


Now or Never

by EgyptianRose



Category: Hey Arnold
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2018-07-15 11:37:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 35,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7220764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgyptianRose/pseuds/EgyptianRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes life is unfair, it can take away someone you love. It can take someone before you can tell them your true feelings. And sometimes Life can give you a second chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hours of waiting all came to this. Helga gnawed on her perfectly manicured nails. She had just gotten them done when the accident occurred. Her cell phone bursting to life with lights and sound. Of course she had to let her nails dry and so could not pick up. She didn't think anything of it.

Phoebe, whose ringtone it was, called her on a regular basis and so Helga just went right on relaxing. Never did she fear that the call would change her life forever.

After a few minutes of waiting for her nails she picked up her phone and shuttered, one missed voice mail message, three emails, and six text messages. She checked her texts first.

_Why aren't you answering?_

_There's been an accident!_

_Turn on the news!_

_Highway 51. Doesn't Arnold take that way home?_

_Please answer!_

_He's not picking up. I'm calling Gerald next._

Helga could feel her heart drop. Her hands went numb and she nearly dropped her phone but she couldn't lose her only line to information on what was going on.

Helga ran back into the nail parlor and grabbed the remote from the owner and, under protests, flipped the channel to the local news station.

Right away she was shown a picture of rubble; the same rubble that was once the Highway 51 overpass. She watched, her eyes scanning the bottom of the screen. At precisely three-o-clock that afternoon a truck carrying fifty ton bricks caused the overpass to sink and cave in on the road beneath it.

Helga was livid, there was an order ten years back stating that trucks were not permitted on the overpass.

Suddenly the camera scanned over another section of rubble. Helga's face paled at the sight of the familiar color of twisted metal that what was once a car. It was now beneath a column of concrete. Blue. A specially ordered shade of blue that could only belong to one person. Arnold.

She wasted no time. She had to know Arnold was safe, was he resourceful enough to get out of his car or find a way to be safe? She rushed to her pink convertible Porsche hopped in and slapped the keys into the ignition. She was off, out of the parking lot and down the street, flying as fast as her car would take her. She ran lights and maneuvered perfectly. When the traffic on the 51 started to build she knew she was close. But sitting in traffic was taking too long and she would be too late. She pulled the car to the side and decided to run.

She ignored the protests put on by the cops as she sprinted past cars. She could see the lights of emergency vehicles flickering like thousands of mini fireworks. The flashes of red drew her into herself she could feel her heart beat, her blood pulse through every vein.

And then she saw it.

Arnold's car.

It looked a hundred times worse in real life. The top had completely bent in on itself and the beautiful paint was permanently etched into the asphalt. The tires were a shredded mess of metal and rubber. But that wasn't what distressed her, what did that was the small pool of blood that collected just underneath her beloved's blue Prius.

Helga broke down there, she fell to her knees and grabbed her long flowing tresses and pulled. Her eyes watering in an instant. She was sure she would die there with her heart torn to shambles. She tried to scream but her throat only managed a long strangled sob.

"Miss are you okay?" She didn't register that anyone was talking to her. She had reached the end of her rope. Her hopes for a future were gone. There was nothing left without him.

"Miss?"

"Better take her to the hospital" another voice suggested.

The two men picked her up and placed her in an ambulance. But this wasn't right? He had to have been saved or something.

"Survivors?" Helga managed. "Him?" She pulled out her locket and showed them the picture of a, now twenty year old Arnold.

"Hey, it's the kid with the football shaped head"

Helga's head picked up and she grabbed the man by his collar. "Where is he!"

"And you are?" the first man asked

"Ugh! He's my! Never mind that just… I have to know"

"He's headed to the hospital. He's lost a lot of blood" the second man said

"Well it's a good thing we are in an ambulance! Let's go!"

The ambulance tore off through the highway, a perfect path being carved through the streets as cars let them pass. Helga's leg twitched and ached with the need to do anything but sit and wait. What if there was nothing they could do for her beloved? What if he were no longer in the same world as her?

She held a hand over her already unstable heart and pressed hard. She couldn't live in a world where he wasn't alive… where he didn't exist. Never having him return her feelings was one thing but to not even have him know her feelings was worse. She needed to know he was okay? Helga held back her tears, surely her bond with Arnold was strong enough that she could tell if he were in mortal danger.

I'm always there to save him, she thought, it's not supposed to be this way. Tears stung at the brim of her eyes. Her hand drifted to the inside of her shirt where she pulled the locked out, she traced the edge of the heart locked, her mind went back to fourth grade. All of it was for this? For her to lose him even before their lives had even started?

The ambulance stopped and Helga jumped out only to be greeted by Gerald and Phoebe. "How is he?"

"We don't know. We just got here."

"So he is here then?" Gerald cringed "I'm going to find out where he is. Gerald walked off into the hospital. Helga looked away; she wasn't ready to find out.

"Leave it to the football head to get into trouble like this!"

"Helga!" Phoebe warned. "Stop. It's time to stop. Arnold is in there… maybe it's time to admit that you love ice-cream."

"You're right."

So here she was watching the monitor in front of her, Arnold was a number now, a number on a screen. She could find out where he was by watching. Currently Arnold was in the O.R. and had been there for hours. Helga paced and watched, all the while coming up with a way to tell Arnold how much she loved him.

Helga glanced around the waiting room, she was alone. Gerald and Phoebe had gone to Arnold's to pick up things he might need if he were to make it… she gulped… out of the surgery alive. The pain was back again, this time she fell to her knees. "Please, god… I know I never come to you for help but if you could… could find it in your heart to spare my beloved. If not for me then for the world. He is likely the last kind-hearted soul left in the universe. We need him… I need him."

Helga peeled herself off the ground and watched as the screen filtered through different names. "Helga Pataki?" the doctor walked in with a clip board in hand. "I'm afraid it doesn't look good."

"Don't… don't say that."

"He just lost too much blood, we… did all we could… he's not going to make it another day." He whispered.

"No! That's not true! I haven't gotten to tell him my true feelings for him. Not in a real way. This can't be happening!"

"I am sorry Ms. Pataki."


	2. Chapter 2

The funeral was a blur.

Helga remembered drifting through a sea of friends. She remembered being hugged. She remembered the soothing tone of friendly voices as they whispered words of sorrow that she neither needed nor wanted to hear.

She stopped at the front of the room where Arnold's coffin sat adorned with flowers. The arrangement was beautiful, designed by Helga herself. It was perfect. Helga reached out and placed her dainty hand over the cool car-like material. She suppressed the urge to claw through the metal, reach in and wake her beloved from death's cold sleep.

"Oh Arnold." The room was quiet. "My love." she fell to her knees in a moment of weakness. "If only I had confessed my love to you. If only you knew and we were together, could I have prevented this tragedy from transpiring?"

"It's so sad." Rhonda Lloyd wiped her eyes, she knew of Helga's feelings for Arnold, heck everyone did. It wasn't hard to figure out after a few years. However, everyone kept it a secret; if Helga wasn't ready then she wasn't ready. "To love someone and never tell them how you feel?"

"Yeah, you never know when someone's gonna bite the bullet. Life is too short to wait." Sid added.

"I recon, it's gonna be a hard year for all of us. Arnold was the best friend a guy could ever have." Stinky said, holding the hand of his wife Gloria. She rubbed his back and gave his hand a squeeze. "It's time." Stinky said and stood up along with Harold, Sid, Gerald, Brainy, and Eugene. They walked up to Arnold's resting place and lifted the coffin up.

Helga stood up and watched as the boys, her friends carried her true love out of the church toward the waiting hearse. As the church emptied around her, Helga took a deep breath; all of the people from the neighborhood came to pay their respects. Arnold had helped hundreds of people through his short life. He was an Angel. He was… he was… why was?

Helga shook her head and followed the crowd out to the funeral procession. Helga's pink convertible was first in line behind the hearse.

When they arrived at the cemetery Helga sat in her car, never daring to move. Once Arnold was in the ground it was over. Helga brought both of her hands to her face and cried.

"Helga?" Phoebe spoke

"Helga?"

Suddenly Helga was in her apartment. Had she dreamed the whole thing? She sat up. Her face felt tight with dry tears. "Phoebe... I just had the most horrible nightmare. I have to tell Arnold how I feel before it's too late."

Phoebe shook her head. "I'm not surprised you don't remember much, you were floating around like a ghost for the past week."

"Week!" Helga Fell back onto the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Everything came flooding back to her. And the pain, the pain was so unbearable that it made her curl up into a tight ball.

"Helga, maybe it will do you good to get out, do some work, write" phoebe paused, "its not healthy to stay in bed like this."

"Since when has anything I've done been healthy?" she pulled he covers down away from her face and looked away. "I have no reason to live. My muse is gone...What does a writer do without her muse?"

"Helga, I'm sorry... But please don't kill yourself."

"I'm not going to kill myself. I don't have the guts." Phoebe frowned, that wasn't a good enough reason and Helga knew it, "and part of me," she added, "thinks he's still here somewhere."

"Helga."

"I know, not healthy."

"No. Maybe it's a way for you to heal." Phoebe whispered softly and placed her hand over her broken friend's arm.

"So the funeral… that's where I remember being last."

"That was a week ago." Phoebe looked at her with sad eyes.

Helga ran a hand through her tangled hair. "I must look like hell."

"Yes, but it's understandable."

"Yeah…" Helga looked at her hands and brought her fingers up to touch her cheeks. She had cried so much that she wasn't sure she had anymore tears left for the rest of her life.

"Hey, why don't I call the girls and we have a night out on the town?" Helga looked at her; it would be nice to see everyone again, since moving on to college they had little time to spend together. "I'll set it up."

"Make it spontaneous or I'll just try to figure out a way to get out of it later."

"Making." Phoebe took a mental note. And for the first time in days Helga smiled.

"And I got them half off at the Gucci outlet store." Rhonda Lloyd told Nadine over hot mocha lattes one afternoon. Phoebe had called them to wait for Helga.

"That's great Rhonda." Nadine, generally happy about her friend's savings conquest, smiled.

"Hello girls." Phoebe walked in slowly and looked around for any, 'Arnold distractions' "Helga is coming in a few minutes. Rhonda, please can you get rid of that lemon wedge."

"Oh Sure." She plucked the wedge free. "It's kinda strange that this would remind her of him. But then I guess I can see it."

"Alright, now she isn't used to being around people." Phoebe continued.

"She's only been locked in her apartment for a week."

"Still. Try not to…"

"It's alright, Phoebs. I'll be alright. I took plenty of happy pills this morning." The girls laughed nervously. "So what's new?"

"Rhonda was just telling me about the Gucci bag she just bought on sale."

"You, buy things on sale?"

"For your information, it was a limited addition, one-of-a-kind bag. I missed it when they first came out because I was in Italy. I saw it at the outlet and I just had to have it." Rhonda stuck her nose up.

"Sorry, princess." Helga mumbled.

"Helga, perhaps this would be a good time to go over book covers for your new book. You've been putting it off. I Spoke to your publisher they need the cover today." Phoebe sunk down under the table and returned with two sheets of paper.

"The one on the left." Helga sighed. "Hope it's a good one. It is my last book, after all." The girls looked at her in shock. "Don't give me that look; I just don't have anything left to write."

"Bull!" Rhonda stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "Look, Helga I know you are sad because you lost Arnold but he wouldn't want you to stop writing. He loved your books."

"H-he did?" Helga paused.

"Yes. I love them too. We were in a book club together. He loved your books. He would talk about all this inner beauty you had, that reading your books let him get to know the real you. You can't stop writing. You just can't" the café was quiet for a moment. When the bustle returned, Rhonda sat back down.

"I just don't know if I can." Helga said finally. "I've lost my will, my muse."

"I'm not saying right away, I know you'll need some time. Hell, when Harold had a heart attack it took me months to finally shop again."

"He didn't die." Helga said.

"Still, I know it will take time."

"Phoebe?"

"Yes?"

"Let me see those covers again." Rhonda smiled and the girls went on to talk about their lives like they always did.

"The prisoner is awake." A man with a cold voice whispered. "He wishes to know what is going on and where he is and so forth."

"I will be in to see him in a moment." Another voice whispered.

"I can hear you!" the prisoner called from his place in a tent. He seemed to be strapped into a chair, very sturdy and old. Splinters were digging into his wrists as he rubbed them against the armrests in an attempt to slip from the straps that bound him. "What do you want with me?" they ignored him.

He remembered driving home, a flash, screaming, white hot pain, a flash of blue and red lights. He remembered hearing his heartbeat drumming in his ears loudly. Then all of a sudden he woke up in a tent. It was dark and the air was sticky and smelled of smoke. There were no windows in his tent only the sound of birds to tell him whether or not it was morning.

"Shut up in there to we'll gag you again." Cold voice said. "You'll learn soon enough what your mission is." He hissed.

"You can't keep me here. Whatever it's for I would rather die than do what you ask!" The prisoner shouted.

Cold voice stuck his head into the tent and flashed a toothy grin. "You are dead." He was wearing a hockey mask that showed his teeth and eyes.

"What?" the prisoner's voice cracked in fear? Was he going to die here without knowing why?

"No one is looking for you. No one will come for you. You have no choice but to help us." The second man said as he shoved cold voice to the side. He stepped into the tent and flashed his prisoner a smile. "Nice to see you again."

"Scheck!"

"Ah, I see you remember me." He smiled and walked in.

"What are you planning this time?" The prisoner struggled harder.

"I have it on good authority that you are in possession of a certain map." His prisoner glared into Scheck's cold black eyes. "So my source was correct. All I want you to do is give me the map."

"I'll never give it to you. Besides I burned that map a long time ago."

"Even so, someone like you, I assume would make a copy of it," his prisoner scoffed "maybe not on paper but in your mind." Scheck leaned in and stabbed his finger at his prisoner's temple for emphasis.

"I'll never tell you."

"Oh I think you will. Because until you do we are going to tear down every inch of this forest until we find it." His prisoner's eyes widened. "That's right, now you know where we are don't you?"

"San Lorenzo."

"That's right. Welcome to San Lorenzo… or should I say welcome home, Arnold" He laughed and lifted the flap of the tent with a loud snap leaving his prisoner alone.

How did Scheck find out all about Arnold's true home, or hear of the map… what business did Scheck have in San Lorenzo anyway? Arnold struggled against his binds once more and let out a frustrated groan. There was no way he would ever tell Scheck where the Green-eyed people were.

As the months went by Helga slowly regained her ability to write. Her newest book was flying off the shelves and once again she was in the top ten of the Hillwood City Times bestseller list. It was a good high and she needed the distraction of book signings and interviews. Being busy, that was the key.

"60 Minutes wants to talk to me?" Helga asked over coffee with Phoebe. "Yes. They wanted to do a story on the Tomato Incident and how you saved our neighborhood. Gerald is going to be there too."

"I don't know much about the Tomato Incident but I can talk about the contract Scheck tried to sign with my dad and how I knew where to find the document." Helga paused; pain began to shoot through her body.

"Helga?" Phoebe's voice was dripping with concern.

"Sure. I'll do it." She put on a fake smile. "Who am I to turn them down?" Phoebe smiled brightly and pulled out her cell phone.

Helga tuned out the rest of her lunch date with Phoebe as she was drawn back to that night; the night she shared her first real kiss with Arnold. Helga brought her fingers to her lips. "Okay, it's all set." Phoebe said, pulling Helga from her memories.

"When is it?"

"Tonight, if you are up for it."

"Sure, I have nothing else to do."

That evening Helga arrived at the studio, when she walked in she could hear the booming voice of a man. She guessed that he was the interviewee before her. She flinched at his voice, he was yelling. Maybe 60 Minutes had busted him for something. She listened.

So you are saying that hospitals are doing this?" The interviewer asked.

"I can say that it is a possibility. I am not saying that my hospitals have anything to do with it." Loud voice answered

Helga's mind trailed off when she reached the end of the hall and was greeted by a woman behind and oval desk. "Hi, I'm Helga Pataki, I'm here for my interview" the woman looked through her computer and gave Helga a look of boredom.

"Oh right, that happy story piece." The woman rolled her eyes; apparently she was only interested in real news. Helga shrugged. "They are almost finished with the hospital guy, just wait over there."

'Hospital guy? Must be the guy talking now,' she thought. 'I can hear him from down the hall.'

"No one has ever been reported missing from my Hospitals, I assure you." The hospital guy said his voice carrying the weight of danger.

"That isn't the issue here, sir. Your hospitals have a high death rate. What people are saying is that maybe at least half of your patients aren't really dead." Helga leaned in further.

"Why would I put my hospitals' reputation on the line like that?"

"That is true. But the story is that you fake a patient's death then you are working with a funeral hall to supply you with empty coffins. Then you are selling your patients off to the highest bidder."

"That is completely false. I mean just listening to the story seems farfetched. Who would do that? I am telling you those stories are just that, Stories."

"Well there is no evidence after all."

"That's right, people get upset about losing someone they love, I understand that, but our hospitals do a lot of good too…"

"Helga Pataki?" the woman at the desk called to her, she seemed rather irritated. "They are ready for you," she led Helga to the room and looked up as the Hospital guy slid past her. It was the doctor. The one who told her Arnold was not going to make it. Helga swallowed hard. What did it all mean?


	3. Chapter 3

Arnold woke with a start. It was the fifth time he had fallen asleep and awoken the same way. His dreams kept him from getting any sleep. The first time he had fallen asleep, visions of his parents never returning flashed before his eyes. The second time, he dreamt of his more recent car accident. His other dreams were of Scheck succeeding in killing everyone in South America.

"Let me go!" the Spanish accent was thick.

Arnold sat straight-up as the flap to his tent opened with the force of a body being shoved through it. It was a woman, about his age, with long black hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a dress in various colors and patterns typical of women in South America. She was covered in dirt and her eyes held a fire in them.

Scheck entered the tent after a few seconds and introduced them, "Arnold, meet Bella. Bella, Arnold." Scheck smiled his sinister smile.

"H-he burned down my village!" she screamed, and tried to wrench her arm away from his grip. Arnold took the time to notice the burns on her body.

"You only have Arnold to blame for that, my dear. He is responsible."

"What are you talking about?" She paused and glared at Arnold causing him to flinch.

"Scheck, let her go. This is between the two of us."

"No, you see, your major flaw is wanting to help people before yourself. That little quality has always seemed to be your downfall." He laughed, "So, Bella here is going to convince you to help me find the Green Eyed People."

Bella snorted in anger and turned to face Scheck. "Are you crazy? The Green Eyes do not exist."

"Oh no, my dear, the Green Eyes are still here. Arnold has met them."

"You Lie!" She spat.

"He is lying, I have never met them personally."

"What? You mean to say that they are here?" Bella grabbed at something around her neck, beneath her dress.

"But I don't know where they are." Arnold said, his voice heavy with desperation.

"Enough." Scheck said, "Perhaps you need more time to think about your little situation." Scheck grabbed Bella by her neck and lifted her up off the ground. She sputtered and clawed at his hands but he was much stronger than she was. "Enjoy your night, Arnold," he said. They left the tent; Arnold was alone again.

The night air carried a thick coat of heat as Bella's pained screams weaved in and out of the wind; they were torturing her and letting Arnold hear. There wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't give up the Green Eyes after all they had done for him. He couldn't free himself and get Bella away from Scheck. "AAHHHH," Arnold screamed. He screamed for Bella. He screamed for his parents. He screamed for his helplessness.

After a few hours of screaming, both his and Bella's, Arnold's voice gave out. He clutched the arms of the chair he was tied to and squeezed as hard as he could. Bella was dead, and it was all because of him. Scheck would just kidnap more innocent people and do the same thing. Scheck was a psycho who would keep to his word and kill everyone in South America.

Arnold didn't know when he finally passed out or even how long he had been in that tent. He felt it had to be a little less than a week because he hadn't had anything to drink since he had first arrived. He wasn't dead but he was coming close, he needed water.

Birds chirping just outside his tent were enough to keep him sane, to know there was still life out there. He had to believe that someone would put an end to Scheck. Karma was a force he was well aware of, a force he believed in with all of his heart.

The flap to the tent opened and the sun cut through the small room like a knife through butter. One of Scheck's men stood at the entrance wiping blood off of a knife, "Have anything you want to tell us?"

"Where is Bella?" Arnold spat.

"She's taking a little nap," the man smirked.

"You bastards!"

"Watch your mouth," the man warned as he took a step closer, "Or I will send you to see that little brat." The man then slapped Arnold so hard across the face that his head snapped to the side.

"Why?" Arnold turned his head back to the man slowly. "Why did you kill her?" He spat a bit of blood out of his mouth. "She did nothing to you!"

"Just a pawn."

"I will never tell you where to find them!" Arnold vowed.

"Then more people will die because of you." The man said, starting to leave. He stopped and turned back to Arnold. "Oh, this belonged to that girl," he tossed an object into Arnold's lap, "to remind you of the life you took." The man laughed and left.

Arnold looked down at his lap and winced. It was the object that Bella was clutching beneath the top of her dress before. Arnold now understood why she had done it. It was a simple necklace with a few brightly colored beads on each side of a charm. The charm held a picture of an eye, an eye Arnold had seen before. Bella had had some connection to the Green Eyes, but what? Arnold closed his eyes at the pain of realizing he would never know.

After hours of thinking and crying, Arnold's stomach started to betray him. The pain of starvation was white and hot. He began to feel that dying would be easier, then Scheck couldn't use him anymore. Scheck wouldn't stop hurting innocent people, but at least it wouldn't be Arnold's fault.

He cringed at his unfamiliar selfish thoughts and took a breath to brace himself against another wave of pain. He wouldn't give in; if Scheck really wanted the map from him, then he would not let him starve. He would hold out for Bella.

* * *

Helga had grown suspicious of the doctor and began to follow him around. She had borrowed Phoebe's Hyundai Elantra to blend in with the street traffic. Of course, she never told Phoebe the real reason she needed the car. She had no proof that the doctor had done anything wrong… yet.

The first week the doctor just did normal doctor things. He helped people, worked late, went home and watched T.V. before doing it all over again the next day. Helga was about to call it quits when the doctor slipped out of his house in the middle of the night. "A little break in routine, Doctor?" Helga whispered and started the car to follow him.

The doctor drove for hours, taking a route that lead Helga to believe he knew someone was following him. Helga backed off a bit but continued on. They pulled up a long driveway, passing under a sign that read _Cemetery_ ; it was the same cemetery where Arnold was buried. Helga ignored the stinging in her eyes and focused on her goal; if she was right, then Arnold was still alive.

Helga caught up with the doctor's now-parked car and turned her headlights off to search for him. She found him handing a stack of money to a man. Helga waited a few moments before stepping out of the car to get a closer look. She stopped at the top of a hill and grimaced when they walked behind a mausoleum. She had lost them, but thankfully the mausoleum carried their voices.

"Excellent work; my client is happy, and after the burial you will get the other half of your cut," the doctor said.

"I will have a coffin made. I have your measurements."

"Good."

Helga inched closer and a twig snapped beneath her feet. "Shit," she whispered and scrambled away behind a grave.

"Were you followed?"

"Of course not!" the Doctor said, "It was probably a squirrel. Want me to lose my job?"

"Well I don't want to lose my job either, if people found out about this it would be over."

"I know," the doctor said and took a breath.

"Where is good old Mr. Oswald going?"

"Some place in Russia; they are testing a new drug," the doctor said.

"Ah, well as with everyone else, he will wish he really were dead."

"What?" Helga mouthed. So the story was true; the doctor was working with the cemetery to sell people.

The next morning, Helga returned Phoebe's car. "Thanks," she said, as she handed the keys to her best friend.

"No problem. So is your car all fixed now?" she asked.

"What?"

"Your car, you took it to the shop." Phoebe paused a moment and eyed Helga carefully. "What did you really use my car for?"

"Ah," Helga bit her lip, "meet me at Arnold's grave tonight. Bring Gerald. And please, don't let anyone see you," Helga warned.

"Helga…" Phoebe was hesitant, "what are we going to do at Arnold's grave? You have to accept that he is gone."

"No, he's not! At least, I have a feeling he's not," Helga said.

"What?"

"I was thinking that we never… none of us actually saw his body. I mean, we went on the doctor's word and they offered to pay for the funeral… I mean, what hospital does that?"

"Are you suggesting that Arnold's body was not buried?"

"Not suggesting, I am saying that he is not in that coffin, and he's not dead."

"This is ridiculous," Phoebe paused; she wanted to get it through to Helga that she _had_ to move on. "I've gone along with this long enough; it's time to let it go."

"Phoebe, the doctor is in on it and so is the manager of the cemetery."

"Helga, please." Phoebe's anger slowly simmered to a boil.

"Listen, I was following the doctor."

"You used my car to stalk some guy?"

"Phoebe…" Helga tried to interrupt.

"No, Helga! I know you are hurting, but you aren't the only one. We miss him too," her voice softened, "Maybe you should take a vacation until you can think straight again."

"Phoebe!" Helga stopped Phoebe's rant by grabbing her shoulders. "You are my best friend, and I know this sounds crazy but you have to believe me."

"Why? You don't believe yourself."

"What?"

"Why are we going to the cemetery?" She didn't wait for Helga to answer. "Because you want to dig up Arnold; you want to make sure. If you believed your story, you wouldn't need to check."

"Ph-"

"No. When we dig him up all we will see is his body." She started to cry. "I don't want my last memory of him to be what we see in that coffin."

"Oh…" Helga stopped. She would need to find Arnold on her own. "Know what? I think I will take that vacation. I will let you know where and when, when I figure it out myself."

"Alright." Phoebe wiped her eyes and smiled as Helga hugged her.

"Don't cry," Helga said, "I'll call you." Helga walked the two blocks back to her house, all the while thinking about how crazy she was being. "When I bring him back, they will all see," she thought.

Helga stopped at her front door and looked up at the stars, wiping a tear from her eye. "Arnold, wherever you are, wait for me." Helga ran inside quickly. Arnold was alive and she could feel it.

Helga went to her room, changed into dark clothes, and grabbed a shovel from her basement. She then headed out the door and out towards the cemetery.

* * *

Arnold was thirstier then he could ever remember; he needed water. He opened his eyes as the flap of his tent opened but no one was there; then again, his head was spinning, he could have been wrong.

"Those bastards. Don't even know how to take care of hostages," Arnold heard someone say. The voice was familiar. "I'll get you out," she said, "and I came to get my necklace back."

"Bella?" Arnold's voice cracked.

"Shh, they are sleeping now. This is the only chance to leave." Bella started untying Arnold from the chair and soon his arms were free. "Come on," Bella said and pulled Arnold onto his feet. He stumbled.

"Bella…"

"Go. You have to get back to America and tell them what Scheck is up to," she said.

"They won't help."

"They will get Scheck out of here," she said, "There is a river behind us, so just dive and you should be alright."

"Wait," Arnold said, as Bella lifted the back of the tent to reveal a long hill with a drop off at the end, "I don't understand… You're here."

"They tricked you. They wanted you to think I was dead. Just go." She pointed out.

"What about you? They'll kill you for sure if they find out you helped me."

"I need to distract them so you can get away."

"No."

"Ugh, you American boys." She got up and shoved Arnold down and out the hole where he rolled down and out of sight.

"I'll come back to save you!" he called and stood up just as he got to the drop off.

"Oh no, you don't!" one of Scheck's men heard the commotion and was ready to snatch Arnold. Arnold was faster; he turned and dove into the water below the drop-off.

"If you survive, we will find you!" the man called and he headed back to camp.


	4. Chapter 4

Helga ran thought the cemetery her feet sinking slightly into the deep soft grass almost as if the spirits of the dead were pulling her under. She ignored the creepy feeling; her need to uncover the truth was just too powerful. She took a breath, his grave was a lot farther than she thought, though it could have to do with the fact that she had been running the whole time.

Taking another breath, to steady her nerves this time, Helga slowed to a walk upon seeing Arnold's headstone. She looked up at the dark sky and shivered, the moon was trying in vain to penetrate the storm clouds. If she didn't hurry it would rain and it would be that much harder to dig up Arnold's grave.

When she finally reached the grave she fell to her knees before her beloved's headstone, she dug her nails into the fresh sod and bowed her head in a silent prayer. She dug her perfectly manicured hands in deeper and cringed at feeling as dirt lodged itself in her nails. Helga yanked her hands up and pulled the square foot of sod up, it made a slight ripping noise. She placed the sod next to her and pulled up the other perfect squares of grassy carpet then stood up.

Shovel in hand Helga began to dig. The first scoop was easy, the second easier still but she still had six feet of earth to uncover and she was running out of time. Thankfully the moon failed in its effort to light the darkness making her harder to see. She wasn't sure if grave desecration was a felony or not but she was sure it was against the law. She couldn't help Arnold from prison.

After about three hours of nonstop digging Helga heard the thump. The thump of coffin lid meeting shovel. She tossed the shovel out of the hole and began digging at the earth with her hands and soon the entire coffin was uncovered. Helga took another breath and whispered sorry to Arnold if he were inside. She knelt on the half of the coffin that covered the body and lifted the other half that covered the head.

Helga glared down at the grey cinderblocks that were meant to represent the weight of a human body. They looked up at her and taunted her, each crack within their molded forms was laughing at her. How could she have been tricked this way?

Helga slammed the lid shut and bit the inside of her lip to keep from screaming in anger. She clenched her fist in front of her face and made a silent vow to show the doctor and the owner of the cemetery what she could do with ol' Betsy.

Helga put her fist down and glanced around the outside of the hole, she had been there a while and no one had shown yet but there was a chance someone would notice a pile of dirt. She climbed out of the hole and used all her strength to shove the dirt back into the hole. It wasn't perfect and there was a slight bulge in the ground but no one would really notice. She then put the sod back and clapped her hands to remove some of the dirt and noticed she'd lost a nail somewhere. She glared; they'd pay for that too.

* * *

Arnold woke up washed up along the side of the riverbank and coughed. He looked back at the rapid water and kissed the rocks beneath him. He didn't know how he managed to avoid all the sharp rocks and dangerous fish that inhabited the area but he wasn't going to question it.

When he felt strong enough to stand he scanned the area around him. The jungle was thick and it was going to be hard for him to get his bearings. It didn't matter, he first needed to go back to the camp and rescue Bella so he would simply follow the river back up.

Arnold searched the area for anything he could use. He found sharp rock, some veins he could use for rope and a small gourd-like fruit he had never seen before (he would empty it and use it as a canteen). When Arnold was sure he had what he needed he began to follow the river upstream.

Streams of sunshine managed to burst through the clouds and trees and Arnold smiled. They reminded him of Helga's long golden hair. Arnold paused. Why was he thinking of her all of a sudden? It had been a while since they had hung out and what he meant by hung out is Gerald would drag him to Phoebe's or Phoebe would drag Helga to his place for parties and the like.

The last time he had seen her was a week prior to the accident…

" _Huh, Hey Football head." Helga said from the corner of a club; club something or other, he couldn't remember. Phoebe and Gerald were somewhere in the crowd of lonely dancers._

" _We are all grown up now, why do you insist on calling me that?" Arnold finally said._

" _It's a habit. What do you care all of a sudden?" she snapped_

" _I've always hated it."_

" _Duh. I wouldn't do it if you liked it." She said and Arnold sighed in defeat._

_After a few more moments of silence Arnold turned to look at her, the music had changed and Helga let out a subtle sound of enjoyment. Arnold glanced down at her feet which were tapping and her body was swaying a bit. "You like this song?"_

" _Yeah, so?" she blushed in slight annoyance. "If you make fun of me for liking this I'll punch you."_

" _Whoa. Calm down. I was just wondering if you wanted to dance." He said. Was he really asking her? He shrugged, why not? Though the last time they had danced together was in elementary school on April fool's day._

" _In your dreams." Helga said and bit the inside of her cheek as if she hadn't meant to say that. Arnold, being the nice guy that he was, gave her another chance._

" _Come on, we are at a club and you are practically dancing already." He gestured to her feet. "Dance with me." He grabbed her hand without giving her a chance to answer. He pulled her body close to his and suddenly he was hot_. Hot?

Arnold was snapped from his memories as he felt the hot sun on his skin, he had been so amerced in his memory that he failed to notice he was no longer in the shade and it was freaking hot. He took a swig of his makeshift canteen and decided it would be best to find a bit of food before moving on.

Arnold set his survival items on the ground and glanced around for a source of food. The river he had crawled out of earlier was now at least fifty feet beneath him. He made his way over to the ledge of the cliff and glanced down; there was no way he could find a vein long enough to fish and the water was moving too fast for him to catch anything anyway.

He decided that fish was out of the question so he would have to look in the lush forest for fruit or another source of meat. He picked a place to enter and walked into the forest but he didn't want to wander too far and get lost so he stopped midway and searched the area around him. Any fruits were way too high in the trees for him to reach and he sighed.

Before Arnold was about to resign himself to the fact that he may have to eat bugs, he spotted a small hole in a tree nesting three spotted eggs. He grabbed them quickly and hurried back to his resting place to build a fire.

It took him a few tries but Arnold finally got the fire working and as his eggs cooked he began to think about Helga again. She seemed to be popping up whenever he thought of… well anything. Why? Arnold sighed and leaned back against a tree, he wondered what all of his friends were doing. Then it struck him, he was thinking of his friends now, Helga was a friend… sort of so there was no need to worry about his odd thoughts of Helga.

They were just friends.

Although he would love to see even her.

"Oh grandpa I wish you were here to give me advice." Arnold sighed

"Is someone there?" Arnold's head spun around at another thick Spanish accent.

"Over here." Arnold said which was stupid because it could have been one of Scheck's men? He paled instantly.

"I saw a fire, are you okay?" called the man just before pushing through the trees. "Arnold?" the man said.

Oh crap.

"Arnold! It is you, I would never forget that head!" he said and rushed toward Arnold and scooped him up and hugged him tightly.

"Uh… who are you?" Arnold said and the man loosened his grip to look at him.

"You don't remember me from pictures or anything?" Arnold shook his head. "The name is Eduardo." Arnold's eyes lit up suddenly. "Ah, so you have heard of me." He set Arnold down and looked him over. "My, your parents would be so proud to see how big you've grown."

"My parents?" Arnold muttered

"Ah, but what are you doing out here?" he said as if sensing Arnold's pain caused by the mention of his parents.

"I was… it's a long story." Arnold sighed.

"Well you can tell me all about it on the way to my camp…Unless you want to stay out here for the night." Eduardo said.

"No thanks." Arnold said and together they put out the fire and headed toward Eduardo's camp.

* * *

"I'm worried about Helga." Phoebe said suddenly as she practiced fencing with Gerald.

"Why?" he said as he thrust his sword toward her only to get blocked.

"She seems to have this fantasy that Arnold is still live. She's even following his doctor and she wanted to dig up his grave." Gerald stopped and pulled his mask off.

"That's ridiculous."

"I think we should have he stay with us so we can watch over her." Phoebe pulled her mask off as well. "It must be hard to have feelings for someone and lose them like that."

"Feelings?"

"All this time she's prevented me from telling you her deepest darkest secret because you might tell but I guess it's okay to tell you now. Since preschool Helga has had strong loving feelings for Arnold."

"Get the fu… no way." Gerald blushed as Phoebe gave him death glare at his almost use of profanity. "That's crazy she's liked him that long? She never told him and now he's gone."

"It's not crazy… she just… you don't know what her life had been like. But that's not the point we need to make sure she doesn't do something she'll regret."

"You're right." He said. "Invite her to stay but I doubt she'll say yes. Not when you don't believe her about Arnold."

"How can I believe her? What she thinks happened never happens. It isn't logical."

"Logical or not she is your best friend."

"I miss him too. I just don't want to think about his death." Gerald pulled her close and hugged her tightly. As they stood in their embrace the radio behind them began spouting the local news.

" _Hillwood city police are on the lookout for a suspect who desecrated the grave of Arnold…_ " as the last name was said the Audio gave out but came back in time for the rest of the report. " _If anyone has any ideas on where we can find the one responsible please give us a call at…"_

"Oh shit." Phoebe said not caring about her curse word. "We have to find Helga."


	5. Chapter 5

Eduardo's camp was small and consisted of a large trailer hooked to the back of a jeep. There were two other people sitting around a fire, one was cooking and the other was sharpening a stick into a spear with his knife. Arnold blinked at the sheer size of the knife; it was longer than his forearm and more jagged than sharks teeth.

"Problem, kid?" the man with the knife asked in a dark grungy American voice. "You want a better look at my knife?" he said in a way that gave Arnold the impression that the man meant more than just a look with his eyes. Arnold shook his head and backed up into Eduardo. Arnold had a bad feeling about the other men but if they were Eduardo's friends then they couldn't be so bad.

"Uh, no thanks." He said finally

"Leave the kid alone, Mick. This is Arnold." Eduardo clarified and made his way to his space around the fire. He patted the space next to him for Arnold.

"Oh right, from those stories." The man named Mick said and shrugged before going back to his carving. Arnold was surprised that Eduardo was even trading stories with the two other men. They weren't mentioned in the journal.

Eduardo, sensing Arnold's trepidation, spoke "Don't mind these two, it's been a long journey, we've been exploring the jungle for days and haven't come up with what we are looking for." Eduardo said then he gestured to each man in turn. "By the way, the man with the knife is Mick, and the man next to him is Jose, he doesn't speak much English but he's a nice guy."

"Nice to meet you... I'm Arnold." Arnold said awkwardly and raised his hand slightly before finally making his way to the space Eduardo made for him. The fire was hot but it felt good against his sore muscles. The river, now that he had time to feel it, had taken a lot out of him. He sighed. Now wasn't the time to let the pain take over.

"So, Arnold, what brings you here?" Arnold jumped as his mind came back into focus. Eduardo placed a hand on his shoulder and cocked his head to the side as if to ask if he were okay. Arnold nodded slightly.

"I'm not sure. I was in a car accident I think and then I woke up in a tent where I was being threatened for information. I managed to escape with the help of..." Arnold cloaked on the thought of losing Bella. "Well I escaped and that's where you found me." He bit the inside of his cheek and watched as Mick's head shot up.

"Information?" Mick asked. "What sort of information?" he twisted his knife in the glow of the fire where it reflected in his eyes, giving him a menacing look. "It had to be something pretty important for someone to go through all that trouble."

"They wanted Information on the Green Eyes," Arnold said as he looked away, "the location of the Green Eyes to be more specific." Arnold said and this time all three men stared at him as if he had grown another head.

"How do you know where they are?" Eduardo asked

Arnold suddenly felt cautious; and he always trusted his instincts so he answered carefully."They assume I do because of my parents but I didn't really know my parents." He said finally.

"So you don't?" Mick scoffed and went back to work on the spear.

"Of course not." Arnold sat up tall and looked the supplies the three men had. "Is that what you are looking for with your little expedition?"

"It's not little. The knowledge they possess will greatly help out mankind." Eduardo said.

"In what way? If you've never found them how do you know they are as great as you say they are?"

"That is due to your parents. The Green Eyes have helped us and we have helped them in return. It's only fair to assume that they can help us in other ways as well." Eduardo said. "There are legends associated with them too. People from Atlantis were said to have been advanced and the same is said of the Green Eyes."

"How will you find them? I am sure others have tried to find them as well and they had more than a trailer and a few computers and satellites."

"I have an edge the others do not have. I have personally been involved in helping them. Once they recognize me they might show themselves to us. They will know that we can be trusted."

Arnold kicked at the dirt under his feet and stared into the fire. "The men who took me won't stop until they find the Green Eyes and I don't know what they want with them but it can't be good."

"So join us. If we find them first we can warn the Green Eyes." Eduardo said quickly. "They may be even more willing to help if they see you."

"Alright," Arnold paused, "but first I need to rescue someone back at that camp, she saved my life."

"That doesn't sound like something you should do. If they catch you it'll be over. I mean if you don't know where the Green eyes are then they have no reason to keep you alive." Eduardo said.

"They won't catch me." Arnold smirked, "In fact they are going to let her walk right out of camp."

"How do you know that?" Mick said suddenly.

"I am going to convince them to do it." Arnold smirked.

"How?" Mick asked.

"I have a plan." Arnold said and began drawing the layout of the camp in the dirt beneath his feet. "Isabella is held in this tent," he marked it with an X, "When I was there I overheard some of the men relaxing because Scheck (the man in charge) takes a break for lunch. He locks himself up in his tent for an hour. While he is there his second in command is in charge. That is the man we need to speak to."

"How do you know he will help us?" Eduardo asked.

"Please, every second in command wants a shot at the big time. We convince him that freeing Bella will help him get something better in return. It's basic Marketing." Arnold smiled. "We just need a convincing offer. I'm thinking a fake map and an old looking rock might so the trick. Bella just has to make the man believe that she's the only one who knows the location of the fake items."

"How will she do that? She doesn't know the plan." Mick said, even more skeptical than before.

"By telling the man that she has no idea what he's talking about." Arnold smirked. "Let's just get ready; I would like to rescue her as soon as possible."

* * *

Helga ducked behind trashcans to avoid a couple of cops who were casually walking down the street. She had been on the Hillwood City news for hours and the cops were everywhere. They sure were putting a lot of effort to find her; I mean it wasn't as if she had killed someone. "The Doctor must have something to do with this." She whispered and held a fist up in front of her face. "You don't run an operation like that unless you have cops and feds in your pocket."

"Why there's a familiar sight." Helga dropped her head in defeat at the familiar southern draw of the voice behind her. "It's almost like it was yesterday, you was hiding behind trash cans in elementary schoo' on'accounta you didn't want now one to know you were talkin' to yourself."

"Stinky? What are you doing here?" Helga yanked him down by his shirt so they were inches apart. "Go away before you blow my cover!"

"I reckon you don't want me to do that." He said suddenly and pulled away from Helga, his feelings for her had never quiet resolved themselves.

"What? Yes I do!" she lifted her hand to smack him.

"But we can help you." He said and she lowered her hand.

"We?" Helga sneered. "Who's we?" she glanced around but there were no others to be found. "How many people know I am here?"

"It's just the four of us. Harold, Sid and me, and Lorenzo." He said. "We want to help you with your cause."

"And why the heck would you want do those?"

"I reckon we ought to talk about this someplace else." He said and handed her a hoodie. "Put this on. There are cops everywhere."

"Duh, why do you think I'm hiding!" Helga seethed and yanked the hoodie from Stinky's hands and put it on before following Stinky to a not so familiar mansion. Lorenzo greeted them cautiously and motioned for them to follow him to his room where Harold and Sid were waiting. "Okay, does someone want to tell me what's going on here?"

"You committed a felony by digging up Arnold's grave! We thought you were sick for doing such a thing, and then Sid saw this thing!" Harold said in his usual hyperactive panicked voice.

"Yeah, Yeah, on 60 minutes about that dr." Sid said.

"Right!" Helga said. "I overheard it when I went in for my interview. At first I was like, 'that's bull' but then I saw that it was Arnold's Doctor doing the interview."

"Right." Sid said. "We need to find out who they sold Arnold to and where he is. I assume you didn't find him in his casket."

"I didn't. Just cinder blocks." She clenched her fist so tight she could feel her blood threatening to break through her skin. "Why are you guys trying to help me? And how did you figure it out? I didn't tell anyone what I discovered."

"Not true." Lorenzo said. "You told Phoebe, she told Gerald and he told us. Gerald wants to believe you more than anything, Arnold was his best friend. He was a friend to all of us. "

"Well it's kinda hard for me to look for proof or for his location when the cops are looking for me everywhere." she said. "I mean they even have cops watching my old home. As if I would ever go back there." She stopped suddenly, not wanting to get into personal crap with them.

"That's what we are here for." Sid said, completely ignoring Helga's outburst. It wasn't as if they didn't know what Helga had grown up with. "I can use my leet hacking skills to get into any system." He smirked. "And with Lorenzo's technology it should be even easier to find out where Arnold is.

"Idiots, it's not like they post the information on the web for any hacker to find. We have to get into their system the old fashioned way. And I want to bring them down!" Helga said. "What we need to do is copy all of their files and once we find Arnold the FBI can find the other people and put an end to them."

"How are we gonna do that?" Stinky sighed. "We can't just walk in there and search."

"We need to be one of their customers." Helga smirked. "But we will ask for proof of their deliveries and while they are distracted with that one of us, I vote Lorenzo, copies the files."

"But if they are showing you proof on the very computer they keep the files on then how are you going to get them away from the computer long enough for me to do that?" Lorenzo asked.

"We'll worry about that after we figure out the first part of our plan." Helga said. "We need another member, someone to be the "Dead body" that we are buying. And we need a way to make the bad guys pick our new member." Helga paused. "They have to be able to withstand pain because we don't know how exactly they will fake the death."

"I'll do it?" Harold said finally. "And maybe they will do something to me to make everyone think I had a heart attack since I've had one before. It won't have to be as severe as a car accident."

"No good." Sid said. "Who's going to believe the buyer wants someone as big as you… no offence. And besides we don't want to face Ronda's wrath." He shuttered.

"I will find someone." And then Helga said with a smirk. "In fact that very someone owes me a big favor." She smirked.


	6. Chapter 6

Arnold, Mick, and Eduardo followed the river up to Scheck's camp. Arnold wasn't entirely sure it was the right way but it was a start. I wouldn't take them long to find a camp that huge in the middle of the jungle. As they walked Arnold went over the plan in his head. It wasn't perfect but with the resources available it would have to do. He had buried the rock (also known as the artifact) deep within the jungle and made a map that lead right to it. He just needed Bella and her one escort to be far enough away for an ambush. Arnold smirked, and now with Mick there it was sure to be easy.

"Are you sure this is going to work? By the sound of things, I think Scheck's other men will notice when a prisoner is let out." Mick asked.

"It will be fine. And it's all we've got. You just have to sell your part." Arnold said.

"Don't worry about my part, if this fails it will be because the plan sucks." Mick said.

"You'll see." Arnold said.

"Shh, there it is." Eduardo said suddenly, cutting off Arnold's last word. Arnold peered through the trees at the familiar camp. Arnold scanned the area from the river to the tents to locate Bella's tent. When I saw it, it took everything in his power to hold his ground.

"So where is this second in command?" Mick asked, never taking his eyes off of the giant tent at the far end of the encampment. "That's gotta be Scheck's tent. Only a boss would have a tent that big." Arnold noticed it too, it was hard to miss. It stood out like a sore thumb, while the surrounding tents were standard military tents; Scheck's tent resembled a circus tent. "He's obviously not worried about getting caught." Mick said and Arnold nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't matter." Eduardo said, "What time does the shift change take place?"

"I don't know. We are going to have to scout for a couple of days to see." Arnold said. "I was trapped in a tent and for who knows how long. People aren't big on giving you the time when you are a prisoner."

"A few days?" Mick glowered at the idea of being trapped in the jungle surrounded by god only knew what. "Is this even worth it? What if they already killed the girl?" Arnold glared at him, how insensitive. Then again, Arnold wasn't surprised.

"They didn't." he said. "If they wanted to kill her they would have done it for real when they were trying to trick me. No, they need her for something."

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Eduardo said. "If we stay this close someone is bound to spot us."

"We'll move back a bit and take turns watching them." Arnold said, "I'll take first watch and you guys can set up a small camp, but no fire."

"Do you think we're stupid?" Mick burst. "Of course we wouldn't start a fire!"

"SHH!" Arnold held his index finger to his lips. Eduardo face-palmed and sighed.

"We'll set up camp, come on Mick." Eduardo said and left with Mick through the trees. Arnold looked back at the camp and sighed. It was going to be a long couple of days.

* * *

Helga pulled on a long trench coat and a hat to cover her hair; she had to hide if she were to make it to the "asset's" house. Sid had volunteered to go but Helga thought it would be best to speak with asset in person. Helga quickly walked to the house and knocked on the door. She waited a few moments before she heard the click of the door unlocking and stood taller as the door opened.

"Hello, Lila." Helga said, trying her best to hide her smirk though it was coming through in her tone.

"H-Helga? What are you doing here?" Lila asked in a soft voice.

"I am here to cash in on that loan." Helga said.

"I am afraid that I don't have the money to pay you back, just yet." She said looking down at her hands in shame.

"Relax, I am not asking for money, in fact, if you do me this favor you can forget about it." Helga said and continued when Lila looked up at her in delight. "We need you to… well, play dead." Lila looked at her like she was crazy.

"Excuse me?" Lila blinked a few times trying to register when she had heard.

"Can we talk about this inside?" Helga glanced around just to make sure the cops hadn't spotted her.

"Of course." Lila pulled back and let Helga walk in. Lila's house hadn't changed much from the first time Helga had seen it in fourth grade. Lila worked two jobs in order to pay for her father's new medical bills. The bills were the reason Lila owed Helga money in the first place. Helga decided that if Lila could do this job and get Arnold back she'd offer Lila a better job with health insurance for her father. But she'd save that tidbit for when the time was right.

They took a seat on the couch and Lila stiffened, she was afraid of what was on Helga's mind. "I'm sorry about Arnold." Lila offered.

"Don't be. He's fine." Helga admitted, "That's why I am here, actually." Helga leaned in toward Lila. "You see, Arnold is alive."

"Alive!? How do you know?"

"I dug up his grave." Helga paused, "he wasn't in there. It only confirmed what I overheard in the graveyard. You see the doctor and grave keeper are working together; they are running a human trafficking ring. See a client comes in and puts in an order for a person; they find the right one and arrange an accident. The doctor then takes the person and tells the loved ones that he or she has died. After that he sells the "body" to the grave keeper. He has a fake burial for them and then sells them to the client."

"What? That's crazy. No one would do that."

"No, it's real and I have to get Arnold back. I need your help, like I said." Helga paused, decided on the direct approach and continued. "We need you to be the next victim. We need to get close to the computers and see where they sent Arnold."

"Oh, I don't know Helga." Lila. "It sounds just ever so dangerous."

"You will be safe. We'll put a tracker on you."

"Who's we?"

"Sid, Stinky, Harold, Lorenzo." Helga said. "Sid will put in an order for a cute redhead you won't go anywhere dangerous."

"But why do you need me if you are just hacking into a computer?" she looked at her, "or is this some sort of joke. You want to hurt me?"

"What? No. you are just the perfect person for this. You are sweet and the only redhead in the area. This way we can be sure you will get picked. Please, help us, if not for me then for Arnold."

"Helga…"

"Do it for your father too. When this is over I am planning on giving you a job at my father's company. You'll have excellent health coverage; your father will be fine." She paused. "I hate that this is coming out as a bribe. I was going to let you have the job regardless."

Lila took a breath, "I'll be safe?"

"One-hund- or ninety-five percent safe."

"Ninety-five percent?" Lila looked at her, seriously now.

"Well, you know that accident they staged for Arnold. I have no idea how they will get you but I don't think that part will be pleasant." Helga admitted.

Lila hesitated a moment longer and nodded, "I'll do it. Arnold would do it for me." she smiled. "I guess it's our turn to save him."

"Exactly." Helga agreed and shook Lila's hand. "Get your things in order and meet me at Lorenzo's house tomorrow at three." Helga stood and headed for the door. She paused and looked back over her shoulder at Lila. "Thank you." She said and walked out.

Helga made her way back to the safety of Lorenzo's house without any problems and sat on the bed that was provided for her and worked on the plan in her head. 'Come on Helga ol'girl, the plan will work, just get some sleep.' She thought to herself. Helga fell back into the pillows and closed her eyes but her brain only worked over time.

_"Helga! Save me." it was Arnold's voice; he was trapped in a dark place. "Help me, Helga!" he called again._

_"Where are you!?" Helga shouted._

_"Help."_

_"I don't know where you are. I'll help you."Helga started running but Arnold's voice was coming from all directions. She ran faster and faster but her surroundings were stuck in place. She wasn't getting anywhere. She couldn't do anything and pretty soon Arnold's voice stopped. "Arnold, where are you?" she listened for a second. "Arnold?"She stopped running. "ARNOLD!"_

Helga shot up in bed and touched her cheek. Tears. Helga glared and gripped the sheets beneath her. "When I get a hold of whoever's got Arnold I'll kill them."

"Whoa. A bit extreme, don't you think?" Sid called from the open door. "I mean why go through all that trouble to get Arnold back only to get thrown in jail."

"Shut up, I was planning on making it look like an accident." She said. "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to let you know that breakfast is ready." Sid said.

"Why are you here so early?" Helga asked as she slipped out of bed.

"We all stayed here. It's home base."

"No one is after you guys you don't have to hide here too." She said.

"You never know what could come up. Lorenzo has the house to himself he likes the company." Sid said as he walked with Helga to the kitchen.

"Hey, Helga." Stinky and Harold said in unison. "We made you a plate."

Helga jerked away from Sid, "Alright, what's going on?!" she glared at them," why are you guys being weird?" the boys looked at each other for a moment then back at her. "What?"

"Have a seat." Sid said as he pulled at chair out for her. Helga did so reluctantly. "Okay, about the grave keeper. I wanted to check up on him so I followed him around yesterday and I heard him talking to the doctor. He wants out. He said that he didn't want to do this anymore if you were still out there."

"We can still…" Helga started.

"No, there's more, this morning, on the news." Sid paused. "They said the grave keeper was killed in an accident, he accidently drove his car into the river."

"WHAT?!" Helga looked at the three of them. "He was murdered for trying to back out."

"I know." Sid said. "But…"

"We lost our only lead to Arnold." Helga finished.

"Sorry, Helga." Sid said

"No. The doctor obviously doesn't want to give up his operation, no pun intended, he'll want to find a new corrupt grave keeper." Helga smirked. "Stinky, how would you like a new job?"


	7. Chapter 7

After a few days of watching the shift changes in Scheck's compound, Arnold was ready to put his plan in motion. A man by the name of Raymond was lucky contestant number one. Second in command, Raymond was always resentful of Scheck. He was heard bad mouthing Scheck to the other men. He was the perfect target for the plan. Greed was a word this man fully understood.

Mick stood at the entrance and waited for Raymond to let him in, "this had better be good." Raymond said. Mick knew that it was no empty threat from the looks of the rifle he had strapped over his shoulder.

"I assure you it is." Mick said as he dangled the fake map in front of Raymond. "Let's talk inside." Mick said and followed Raymond into the compound. Mick carefully surveyed his surroundings just in case he might need to escape. Tents flanked either side of the large compound and in the center was Scheck's. Mick was relieved that Raymond didn't lead them too close to Scheck's tent.

Once inside Raymond grabbed Mick and held a knife to his throat while his other hand restrained Mick's hands. "You have three seconds. It's been a while since I've killed something." He said as he broke Mick's skin slightly for emphasis.

Mick kept his temper in check; it wasn't the first time he had been in a situation like this. "If you kill me you'll never find the hidden treasure."

"Treasure?"

"That's right; I doubt your boss in there has shared the importance of that girl with you." Mick smirked.

"That girl? The hostage?"

"That's right. Hasn't it struck you as odd that he hasn't killed her yet? Didn't she fulfill her purpose, I mean now that the boy has escaped, why is she still here?" Mick asked and Raymond let the knife slip away. "And how much is your boss paying you for your troubles?"

"Once we find what he is looking for he has assured us that there will be plenty of riches to go around."

"How can you be sure?" Mick said. "How many men are employed under your boss? See if you help me with my plan we only have to split the treasure two ways. I have the map but only she can read it. See you have the girl I have the map fifty/fifty." Mick said.

"How do you know all of this stuff? Who are you?" Raymond held the knife to Mick's throat once more.

"I am Mick; I have been looking for that girl for years. I finally find her and you burnt down her village." He sighed inwardly, hoping Arnold's information was correct. "I followed you guys and have been watching. It was quite a sight, that boy escaping from a heavily armed compound."

"If I am seen taking that girl out I will be killed." Raymond finally said.

"We can get out if you put a bag over head while we move through the compound. I'm sure you have other hostages here." Mick said and Raymond nodded.

"I want to talk to the girl first. See if you are telling the truth." Raymond said. "Play nice or I will have to shoot you." Raymond warned as he released Mick from his grip. Raymond picked up a gun before shoving it against Mick's side careful not to let anyone who happened to be watching see it.

He walked Mick to the back of the compound and to the tent in which they kept Bella. Raymond shoved his way through the opening and kicked Bella's foot to wake her. "You've been keeping things from us, bitch."

Bella looked up slowly; Mick had to stop from stepping back at her fiery glare. "What do you want?"

"The treasure."

"What treasure?" Raymond back handed her so hard the chair she was strapped to nearly toppled over. She spat out blood and looked back at him.

"This man here says you know the location of a great treasure. You can read this map." He said.

"I have never seen that man in my life." Bella spat. "Pendejo!"

Raymond turned back to Mick, "She's never seen you? Surely she'd know if you were looking for her."

"You will believe her? She'd say anything to protect that treasure." Mick countered and Raymond paused to think it over before turning back to Bella. "Let's see if we can convince you to tell the truth." Raymond said and made his way over to untie Bella. "Try anything stupid and I will cut out your lying tongue." He said and yanked Bella to him before sliding a bag over her head.

* * *

It had been two days without movement from the good doctor but Helga was confident that the Doctor loved the pay and would be starting his operation soon. Stinky managed to get the job of grave keeper easily since the funeral home was desperate for one. The fact that Lorenzo and Sid put together a fake job history and references helped too.

"You reckon he'll try this funeral home again?" Stinky asked. "I mean you would think he'd find a different location since he is under suspicion already.

"That's why, along with your fake job history, Lorenzo and Sid gave you a new life, complete with a gambling problem and drug addiction. You'd be an easy target for the Doctor." She said.

"It's been two days with no bite." Stinky said.

"Maybe there is something I can do to speed things up." Helga said. "You just keep working." Helga said and left the funeral home and headed for home base. On the way she turned on her phone and called Gerald. "I need money."

"How about hello, long time no see, Gerald." He sighed. "Where have you been? Phoebe's been so worried about you." He said.

"I can't do anything about that now. I don't want her involved in this. I need your help. What do you know about money laundering?"

"It's a crime with serious jail time attached." He said.

"Of course. What I mean is how does it work? I'll need get some money together for a little project."

"What, because I'm black you call me? What makes you think I know about laundering money?"

"Shut up, you know this isn't about race, I know that you've been studying business and law so just help me."

"Okay, okay."

"I only need the money for a few seconds and then it can be sent back to where it came from." She said.

"If you don't get caught first." He paused. "What is this project? Does it have to do with Arnold?"

"Arnold…" Helga sighed. "You can't tell anyone about this." She said and explained the whole thing to Gerald, from the interview to the death of the grave keeper. "I need the money to convince the Doctor to take a job on the fly, he seems to be laying low now but if I have enough money his greed will take over and we can find Arnold."

Gerald was silent for a while before saying, "I'll help. Don't ask me how I know this and don't let Phoebe know about it either. I can get the money together in a couple of days. I need to run it through various channels to make sure it's not traceable and then you'll only have a short time. I'm going to need the Doctor's bank account number. We'll do the transfer in front of him and after he takes the deal the money will only be there for a week before it bounces back."

"Thank you Gerald."

"And if I get fired or jail time you'll have to deal with Phoebe's wrath." He said. "I'll call you when I'm ready." He said and hung up.

"Great. Two steps back." Helga said, slipping her phone into her pocket.

* * *

Arnold was startled by the sound of footsteps heading his way so he signaled Eduardo to be ready with the trap. He looked down at the ground where they had set up a human snare, once Raymond was in place Eduardo was to cut a rope that would capture him.

"Look at the map carefully," Mick said. "I know you know how to decipher it"

"Do this and you can go free?" Raymond said.

Mick was doing a good job of making sure it looked like Bella was leading the way since the code on the map was nothing but gibberish. Bella was still suspicions of Mick but he was helping her so she figured she'd play along for now. Bella leaned in close to Mick and whispered something to him.

"She said its right through to that clearing." Mick pointed, though Bella never whispered anything, he was glad that she had finally caught on.

They continued walking until Mick pulled them to a stop then he pulled Bella back and yelled "Now!" signaling for Eduardo to cut the rope which quickly scooped up Raymond in a huge net.

"You bastard! You tricked me!" Raymond Yelled, "you want the treasure to yourself!"

"There is no treasure." Mick smiled and Arnold stepped from the bushes.

"Arnold!" Bella called and ran into his arms.

"You are working for that kid! Dammit!" Raymond wiggled trying to get free but the net only swung from side to side.

"Hopefully your boss finds you before the wild animals do." Said Mick "let's go before he finds us though." He turned to Arnold

Back at Camp, Bella and Arnold sat around a fresh fire drinking some hot coffee. "You didn't have to come back for me."

"Yes I did. You saved me first and besides I need to stop Scheck. He might be willing to wait for me to show him where the green eyes are for now but that won't last and then he'll start bulldozing the whole forest." Bella gasped at the thought and grabbed for the necklace beneath her clothes. "I've been meaning to ask about that necklace." Arnold said.

"It is a key." Mick said suddenly and Arnold looked up to see they were cornered by Jose and Mick, who were pointing large jagged knifes at both of them.

"What's going on?" Arnold said and started to stand before he was shoved back down.

"Hand it over." Mick said.

"No." Bella held her necklace tightly and Jose advanced on her. She looked at Arnold and then back at Jose.

"We will take it from you, dead or alive." Mick said. Arnold's eyes narrowed and he grabbed the blade of Mick's knife, flinching as the cool steel pierced his skin. He twisted his arm causing Mick's wrist to give way and Arnold shoved him back where Mick tripped over a vine. While this was happening Jose had taken his attention off of Bella. She splashed the hot coffee in his face and moved away.

"Let's go." Arnold said and grabbed her wrist before pulling her through the trees. Arnold didn't know what was happening but he did know two things, the Green eyes were being tracked from all sides and he had to keep Bella safe even at the cost of his life.


	8. Chapter 8

Arnold ran through the forest with Bella in toe, they had been running for half an hour and were running low on energy. Arnold knew they had to stop soon and the pain in his hands was getting annoying. He'd have to find a place the wash and cover the wounds before he got an infection. Arnold stopped when he spotted a tree that had fallen over; beneath it was a huge hole. He pulled Bella to the tree and climbed under the roots and into the hole. The roots would keep them hidden while he came up with a plan.

"What are you doing? We have to keep going." Bella said and gasped when she saw the blood on his arms.

"It's alright; it's not as bad as it looks." Arnold said as he watched the expression on Bella's face. He hadn't noticed before but her eyes were a piercing green color and against her dark skin they were brighter than emeralds. Her brown hair cascaded around her face and fell over her shoulders like chocolate waterfalls. The worry on her face only made her more beautiful. He shook his head. It wasn't the time for his boyish thoughts.

"I will find some water and food." She said. Arnold was about to protest when she stuck up her hand to stop him. "I know this forest better than you do. I will be fine." She said and crawled out of the hole. Arnold waited for the sound of her footsteps to vanish before he let himself fall back against the roots that refused to leave the earth.

He couldn't believe that Eduardo would do such a thing. It occurred to Arnold that it might have been Eduardo's plan all along; to find the Green-Eyed people. Arnold clenched his hands into fists and fresh blood squirted out of his wounds and coated his fingers. Eduardo was the one who had reported his parents missing in this forest. Perhaps that wasn't the whole store. If he was willing to kill Arnold now then why not kill his parents before. Hot tears prickled behind his eyes. His parents would never have given the location to anyone. Eduardo must have killed them. Arnold let out a quiet cry and let his head fall back against the roots.

As silent tears rolled down his cheek Arnold began to think of home and how easy it was when he knew his parents where alive somewhere. The truth was just too much to bear and he wasn't ready. A part of him knew that maybe his parents didn't survive but he never let that part surface, perhaps if he had then this information wouldn't have hit him so hard.

Arnold narrowed his eyes and wiped away his tears with the back of his hand. This wasn't the time to wallow in self-pity. If Bella was out looking for food and water then he should be in charge making a suitable shelter for the night. Arnold crept forward on the balls of his feet, peered out of the hole and climbed out when he saw no signs of people. He set out to gathering big leaves for the ground and for the roots above them.

He would have to make another shelter as a decoy just in case Eduardo and his men came along while they slept. Arnold also made small traps that would let them know if anyone came around.

By the time Arnold had finished the sun was low in the sky and the air began to change from overbearingly humid to nippy. The humidity made him sweat and his clothes were soaked making the air feel colder and Arnold began to wish he could build a fire but that would alert anyone looking to where they were. He had to hope that the shelter would be warm enough.

"Arnold." Bella whispered. Arnold made his way back to the tree and smiled at her. She had made two canteens out of a few things she had found and in her arms she carried some fruits and eatable plants. "Good job with the shelter, I almost couldn't find it." She climbed into the shelter with him. "How are your hands?"

"Still bleeding but not as bad as before." He said and held out his hands to her like a child holding out scraped palms to its mother. She looked them over and grabbed the hem of her dress and ripped off a part for cleaning. She took one of the makeshift canteens and poured some water on his hands and used the cloth to wipe some of the dirt and blood away. Then she pulled up one of the plants she had gathered and spilt it open to reveal white sap. She squeezed it into the wounds and watched as it bubbled.

Arnold watched in awe as she worked and after she ripped another part of her dress and wrapped his hands up he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Thank You." He let out a soft sound when she wrapped her arms around him as well. It had been a long time since he had felt human contact in the form of comfort.

"It wasn't a big deal. My mother was a healer in my…old village." She said and they let go of each other.

"I am sorry Scheck did this to you." Arnold said.

"Deep down I always knew something would happen. My mother would tell me that no matter what happened I would have to be strong. She gave me this pendant" Bella said as she pulled it out of her shirt, "she told me to never take it off." When those men took it I was too weak to stop them."

"We'll make them pay for this, for all of it." Arnold said. "And Eduardo and the others too."

"That's wishful thinking, it's the two of us against two different armies, granted, one army is three guys but we barely got out of there as it is." She said. "How do you think the two of us will take all of them on?"

"Simple. We just need a plan." Arnold said.

* * *

The doctor glanced though the paperwork on his desk. Earlier that day a folder had ended up on his desk. It was filled with article after article that pieced his operation together. Before him stood a small man with dark hair and bright eyes, "so you see, I have put together and have come to the conclusion that you will get me what I need."

"And if I refuse to help you with this? You have no proof after all. All of these things mean nothing to me." the doctor said.

"I know that you are trying to lay low now but I will pay you handsomely if you do one more job for me."

"Oh? I would be risking everything if I took this job. It won't be easy to find another grave keeper. This isn't something I can pull off on my own." He said. "I will need money to pass around." He smirked. As expected greed was enough to propel the doctor to make a rash decision. "How much are we talking here?"

"How does a million sound?"

"Too good to be true." The Doctor stiffened and glanced at the young man in front of him suspiciously.

"You are a careful man, that's good." Said the young man.

"If you don't trust that I have the money then I am willing to pay half now and half after the job is over."

"Make it two million and you've got a deal. This way I get the million either way." Said the doctor.

"Alright." The young man stuck out his hand.

"You have a deal, Sid" said the doctor as he shook his hand. "I will need time to find the grave keeper. But I won't start searching until I see the money in my account. I will set up a meeting place and time for you."

"I will be waiting." Said Sid.

* * *

Helga smiled as Sid told her that the Doctor was in. "Gerald won't be happy that the price was changed from one to two million." Lorenzo said.

"It will be fine; the Doctor won't have that money for long anyway. He'll get put away for a long time." Helga smirked.

"Helga, when do we get to my part of the plan?" Lila asked from her place on the couch. Helga had called her over to go over the new plan.

"It will be the same but take a little longer than I expected. I am sorry. It isn't as though I don't want to get Arnold back just as badly."

"I know but the longer we have to wait the less likely it will be that he is still alive." She said and looked down.

"Don't say that! He is still alive. I know. We are connected. I can feel it." Helga said. "No one is allowed to say things like that. Don't even think them! We are going to bring him back!" Helga shouted.

Sid touched her shoulder. "None of us would be doing this if we didn't believe." He smiled. "Just be calm. We are almost there. Once I get the meeting place I can tell Gerald to be ready. We only have to show one million to start so everything will be fine with that. Lorenzo has a program that will copy everything from the doctor's computer. We will find that file and find Arnold."

"Good." Helga took a breath. "I'll call Gerald and let him know about everything." She said.


	9. Chapter 9

The air was warm and misty against Arnold's skin, drop of water hit is cheek and his eyes opened. The Jungle was alive with the sound of birds and other animals. Arnold sat up and glanced out through the small hole in the shelter. The haze was so thick that he could hardly see three feet in front of him. They wouldn't be going anywhere until it cleared up. Arnold pulled the leaves closed and looked down beside him.

Bella was sleeping with her head cradled in the crook of her left arm and her hair was fanned out around her, it was a little tangled but still very soft looking. Before he knew it, Arnold reached out a hand and stroked her hair. It was soft. Arnold's hand moved closer to Bella's sleeping face and he found himself cupping her cheek. He'd find a way to keep her safe.

Bella opened her eyes to Arnold's soft touches and smiled at him. "Morning." She said. Arnold ran his thumb over her bottom lip causing it to tingle. Bella licked her lip to stop the sensation.

"Morning." He said finally and pulled his hand away. "It's a bit hazy out right now. I don't think it would be a good idea to wonder around in it."

"No, it's not." Bella said and sat up. "How did you sleep?"

"Not that well. I was a little worried that someone would find us. We need to find a better shelter than this. A village." He sighed. The closet village would be the first place their pursuers would search for them. They couldn't risk it. Arnold got up into the crouching position and stretched as best he could.

Bella cradled the pendant in her hands and studied it for a moment. "He said it was a key." Arnold sat beside her and looked at the eye insignia. "A key to what?"

"My guess would be that it's a key to get to the green eyes. I don't get why we need a key." He said and took the pendant into his hands to study it. It looked familiar somehow but he couldn't remember. "We have to find them and warn them."

"How will we do that?" Bella Asked. "Not even my people know where they are and we share a jungle."

"I have the map." He said. "My parents left it to me in a journal." He paused. "The reason I am here is because I have the map memorized." He smirked. "We can find them and use the key to help us."

"You might have memorized the map but you don't know where we are." Bella pointed out. "I don't know this part of the jungle that well."

"We'll need to find a landmark. As much as I hate this idea, we need to find the closest village and start from there. I'll climb a tree and see if I can spot a village or the river that will lead us to one."

"And if Scheck is there or Eduardo's team?"

"We'll have to deal with that if it happens. We can't stay here forever, eventually they will search out the green eyes by themselves and a lot of innocent people could die."

"You seem to think that everything will work out." She said. "It just seems impossible. Maybe if we give them the key and go with them we can solve this peacefully."

"Do those men seem peaceful to you? They killed everyone in your village. No. this has to stop and I am going to try and do it. I know you are scared but we are the only hope the green eyes have."

"You are right." She said. "It's all just so much."

"I know." He said.

* * *

Gerald stared at his cell phone as it came to life with the twang of disco music. An unknown number flashed across the screen. Gerald took a breath and logged into his computer before sliding the answer icon across the screen to answer. "Yeah, it's me. I am ready to make the transfer," Sid Said. There was no turning back now.

"Yes, sir." Gerald said and his fingers worked over the keys of his computer. This was delicate. He was taking money from other, powerful, dangerous people and he had to get the money back before any of them noticed. Gerald's curser hovered over the OK button on the screen. This was the last chance he had to stop but he wouldn't. He clicked and the money transferred over to the doctor's account. If this was going to get Arnold back then it was worth the cost.

Gerald sat back and let out a breath. "All done sir, you should be able to see it now."

"Yes we see it. Thank you." Sid said and the phone went dead.

"What was that?" Gerald jumped and glanced behind him at his wife.

"Phoebe, I thought you were going to be out today?" he said.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know what you mean?" he said sheepishly.

Phoebe's face dropped, "you just transferred a million dollars to someone's account. A million dollars you don't have." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me what's going on." She repeated.

"Fine." Gerald said. "We are trying to get Arnold back." He said.

"What?" Phoebe sighed. "She got to you. He was your best friend but you need to give this up."

"How can I do that? If there is a chance…"

"No! I don't want you involved in this."

"Hey, keep your voice down. I don't understand why you are so against this. It's like you don't care."

"How dare you say that!" she said and took a breath. "Helga has been in love with Arnold for a long time. She can't handle that her life was focused on one thing this whole time. Now she has to let this go and go after other dreams but she can't so her mind is making her believe that he is still alive." Gerald tried to open his mouth to say something but Phoebe wouldn't let him. "I had to watch you break down the first time we lost him. If you find this hope again and he's really gone, you'll go back to that and I can't watch that again. I love you."

Gerald nodded and pulled her onto his lap and petted her hair back. "I understand that but I've seen the proof. That car accident didn't kill Arnold. He was sent somewhere and what I was doing is going to help us find out where." Gerald said and began to go over the plan with her. "Lila is going to be the bait on this one."

"Lila? You guys would send her in."

"She won't be killed."

"No but he could be terribly injured. I had a look at Arnold's charts. He very well could have been killed by that accident. What if the Doctor decides to let Lila die? What if he catches on to what you are doing?"

"He won't." Gerald said. "Have faith in Helga. There isn't anything she wouldn't do to find Arnold." He paused. "She won't admit it but she needs you. She didn't want you involved but I can see the way she's pretending to be strong. She's scared that he might be gone. She needs support."

"What do I do with you two if you are wrong? If Arnold really is gone?"

"We'll all have to deal with that but if there is a chance he's a live and we don't take the chance to save him then I will feel worse."

"I've been such a terrible friend and wife." She said. "I am so sorry."

"No, you were only trying to look out for us." Gerald said and pulled Phoebe onto his lap. He kissed her temple and smiled. "When we get the call I will take you to see Helga."

* * *

Lorenzo sat next to Sid and handed him a thumb drive. "This has a few pictures of a few of the girls we've sold over the years. Just to give you an idea of what we are looking for." Sid said as he handed the thumb drive to the doctor.

The doctor took it and glanced at Lorenzo. "Why was I not told about your business partner during our first meeting?"

"He is a very busy man. He keeps our clients happy and he wasn't available to speak with you at the time of our meeting." Sid said. Lorenzo had been hard at work developing a program that would copy all of the doctor's computer files without him knowing. The program was hidden on the thumb drive. The doctor would activate the program all on his own. Each picture he clicked through would drive the program deeper into his computer.

"I see. I don't really need this thumb drive. Just tell me what sort of girls you look for." He said.

"We are very picky about this operation. We need the perfect girl. I don't want to leave anything to chance. Just have a look at the pictures and we will take our leave of you." Sid said.

Lorenzo fidgeted and cleared his throat. This whole thing would be over if the doctor didn't plug in the drive.

"I know what I am doing." He doctor said. "I don't need any help."

"Let me make this clear if you get the wrong girl you won't have to worry about us. You'll have to worry about the wealthy client behind this."

"I'll take my chances." The doctor tossed the thumb drive back at them. "I'll be in touch." The doctor said. He stood up and gathered his computer before leaving the café he had chosen for a meeting place.

"What now?"

"We'll have to get at his files another way. He'll hire Stinky and then we'll have to use Lila to locate Arnold. When she is in the hospital she should have access to the doctor's office."

"He won't keep anything at the hospital."

"He'll want to collect the rest of the money. He'll want to keep an eye on his account to make sure it's in there. He'll keep his computer with him. Gerald will have to keep the money in there for a couple of days. We'll give her the thumb drive and she'll have to get the files off of the doctor's computer."

"Damn. This was the original plan; we changed it because it was too risky. Helga's not going to like this." Lorenzo said.

"I know but it's the only option left to us. We have to get Arnold back and stop the Doctor before more people are hurt." Sid said before packing their things and heading back to the mansion with Lorenzo.

As the pulled up they noticed a familiar Hyundai in the drive way. "Gerald must be here." Sid said as they got out. They went inside to see Helga crying in Phoebe's arms.

"What's going on?" Sid asked.

"It's nothing. How did it go? Do we have the files?" Gerald asked

"About that…" Lorenzo started. "We're going to need the money to stay in there a little longer. The Doctor wouldn't use the thumb drive. He's smarter than we thought."

"What?" Helga pulled away from Phoebe and stalked over to Lorenzo. "What do you mean he wouldn't use it?"

"I have another idea. Lila's going to have to get the thumb drive into the Doctor's computer. It's the only option left to us." Sid said.

"There's another option. We kidnap the doctor and make him tell us where he sent Arnold." Helga said and everyone looked at her. "I'm tired of failing." She said. "Now, I know that this is whole thing is my fault so I will kidnap him and torture him myself." She started walking to the door but Phoebe pulled her back.

"Torture will only get you to the fastest lie. Sid is right. We have to get Lila to use the thumb drive." Phoebe said. "You need to be patient. Besides, Arnold wouldn't want you to torture anyone for him."

Helga looked back at the others and nodded. She wiped her eyes. They were close and she almost ruined it. "We'll get the Doctor the right way. We'll bring Arnold home."


	10. Chapter 10

The Branches Arnold used for hand holds were digging into his hand causing it to bleed again. He ignored the pain in favour of paying attention to his grip. It was getting harder to keep hold with his hands slick with blood and he was up too high to make any mistakes. Mosquitoes buzzed around him and landed on his arms for a snack but he had to ignore those too.

When he reached the top of the canopy he scanned the area. There were trees as far as the eye could see but in the far distance he could see a small stream of smoke drifting into the air. It was either Eduardo or Scheck, thankfully whoever it was, was far enough away not to be an issue. Arnold turned his gaze to the direction he and Bella had been walking for days only to find more trees. There was no sign of the river but at least he could see the sun. Arnold used his survival skills to figure out their direction and they were headed south east.

"What do you see?" Bella shouted from the ground. "It's making me nervous that you are up there. Come down."

"I'm coming." Arnold said and quickly scurried down the tree and onto the ground. "There is no sign of the river. I got our direction."

"How does that help?" Bella, "We are still lost."

"We are not. Look I remember a waterfall on the map and we are heading south east. We've been traveling for about two days." He paused. "Here's the part you aren't going to like."

"I already don't like that we lost track of the river."

"Well behind us I saw smoke from a camp. It's far we'd have to stop walking for a day for them to catch up. Thing is. We are going the wrong way."

"How are we going the wrong way? Wait are you saying that we have to go back toward the camp you saw? Are you crazy? It could be those men and they will kill us this time." She said. "You're right, I hate this." She threw her hands up in the air. "What exactly are you trying to lead us to anyway?"

"We passed a village a long time ago. We were so far from the river that we just missed it."

"How do you know there is a village there? None of these villages are on any maps not even yours."

"You are wrong. The map I have memorized was drawn by my parents. They used to come here to help the people. They used to go to one village in particular. It is behind us."

"Your parents?" Bella paused

"We can waste more time going this way or we can head back and find that village." Arnold said. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm going to regret this but I guess we are going back. But if we get caught by those men I'm going to kill you before they get the chance." She teased and Arnold smiled.

"Fair enough." he said. "We'll head east for a few hours then head north that should put us far enough away from that camp I saw and if they are after us they will never think that we turned around; that should give us more time."

"Sure but that's only one of the camps after us."

"One step at a time. Now we have to get some food and water." Arnold said and glanced around. "If you find us some water I will take care of the food. We can't risk making a fire so we'll have to settle for fruit or... bugs."

"That's disgusting." Bella said. "Focus on fruit."

"We have to stay strong because we never know what could happen I will eat what I have to." Arnold said.

* * *

Lila winced as Sid held her wrist and pushed the tip of a needle into her skin. He pulled the needle free once the tracker was in place. "Are you sure this will work?" Sid asked as he turned his attention to Lorenzo.

"I am tracking her right now, looks like it works fine." Lorenzo said. "We won't lose her."

"You'll be safe." Sid said to Lila and she smiled, "There's no way in hell we are letting him take another one of our friends."

"Good. I just hope we find Arnold. I don't care what happens to me." she said and as she scanned their faces she could tell they felt the same way.

"We'll get him back," Harold said as he entered the room.

"Where have you been, man?" Sid asked.

"I had to convince my wife that this was a good idea. She's with Helga and Phoebe in the kitchen."

"You brought Rhonda?" Sid looked at him. "Why would you do that?"

"I told him to." Gerald said. "I figured we could use all hands on deck for this."

"It's not a heist, Lila is the only one going in there." Sid said. "The less people involved in this the safer it will be if we get caught somehow."

"It's only one more extra person and besides she wouldn't let me come here without her." Harold said. "Don't worry, we know what's at stake and we are willing to pay that price if need be."

"Arnold needs all of us." Lila said.

After a few hours and a meal Stinky came through the door with a huge smile on his face. "I'm in with the Doctor. He picked Lila like we knew he would." Everyone stared at him. Phase one was on track. "Thing is I don't know how it is going to happen. He said he wants to keep things separate. I know that I should expect Lila by the end of the week."

"It's kinda scary not knowing when or how it will happen." Lila said.

"He is under orders not to hurt you too badly but I am sure it will still be painful." Sid said, "You can still back out. We can get you out of the city."

"No this is the only plan we have to get Arnold back. I want to do this." she paused and looked at Helga who was seated at the head of the table. "I want to do this for you too, Helga." Helga looked at her in surprise. "Every girl belongs with her soul mate." she smiled.

"Enough of this mushy crap." Helga said after giving Lila a thankful look. "We need to rest up so that we are prepared for whatever might happen."

* * *

After filling their stomachs with whatever food they managed to catch, Arnold and Bella set off to the east. The forest was alive with sound and yet it still felt lonely. To Arnold this place felt like home and yet it was haunted by the memory of his parents. He didn't remember them but he could feel their presence everywhere.

"You've been quiet. Are you okay?" Bella asked

"I'm fine." he said, "I think this will be a good place to start going north."

"I hope you are right about the direction." Bella said.

"Yeah, me too." They headed north quietly until Bella spoke again.

"You brought up your parents earlier..."

"It's not something I like talking about." Arnold said. "But since it seems you won't let it go I'll tell you." he paused. "A long time ago they got lost in this forest, they came here to help the people but never came back, well I always thought they were lost here and would come back one day. Now, I am pretty sure Eduardo killed them. He was their friend."

"Oh, Arnold, I am so sorry. Now we really have to stop that man. Betraying your parents like that. He'll pay." Bella said and Arnold stared at her. She was so strong and filled with conviction and he couldn't stop himself he pulled her to a stop and yanked her close to his body and kissed her.

He pulled away slowly and smiled, "I'm glad you are here with me, I wish we were in Hillwood on a date instead but you take the hand you are dealt."

"Me too." she lingered in his arms for a few moments more before grabbing his hand. "Let's keep going. We want to get out of here as soon as possible. Maybe you could take me back with you to Hillwood." she smiled.

"You'll love it. It's a different kind of Jungle and I think my friends would like you."

"Are your friends as brave as you are?"

"Most of them. We would do anything for each other. I hope that they are okay. I mean they think I'm dead according to Scheck but who knows if he is holding anyone else hostage somewhere."

"We'll stop Scheck and Eduardo and they rescue your friends if they need it. Everything will work out, right?"

"Of Course." he gave her a cheesy smile and continued to walk with her hand-in-hand.

* * *

Helga felt something pull at her heart and she stepped outside for a moment to think. She only had that feeling once in her life when Lila had shown up. "Oh Arnold," she gazed up at the stars. "Please be okay... I love you. I'm going to tell you when I find you and then I will be there to take care of you." she grasped the familiar locked beneath her shirt. "You should see the way everyone is rallying together to help me. They are helping you too but I actually feel like it's for me too."

"Helga" she turned to find Phoebe looking at her. "I couldn't help but overhear what you said. We do care about you. We always have." she smiled. "I am sorry I didn't support you before. I should have known better."

"No, I understand why you didn't. You were Hurt. Arnold isn't just mine. When it comes to him I just feel selfish. At first I couldn't tell him how I felt because I was embarrassed, then as time grew I just couldn't let go of my pride, then I just wanted to keep my feelings to myself because they were mine alone and as long as he didn't know I could imagine he was mine." Helga paused, "if I came clean and he rejected me then I would have wasted my life."

"The thing about Arnold is that he would never hold a grudge against you, no one would. We all know about your family issues."

"That's not an excuse. I never wanted to be like them."

"You aren't. You made a life for yourself, you are a bestselling author, and you never needed them. But I think it's time you had the family you deserved. You and Arnold."

Helga's eyes welled up and she hugged Phoebe tightly. "Thanks Phoebe."

"I love you, Helga." she said. "Let's go inside."

"I love you too but don't tell anyone about this." Helga stomped into the house.

"Forgetting." Phoebe shook her head and followed Helga inside.


	11. Chapter 11

Lorenzo stayed up all night, the rhythmic clack of keys on a keyboard fill the house but it was soothing in a way. He was searching for any clue as to how the doctor would strike. On Sid's orders, Lorenzo wouldn't stop until he found a clue, any clue that would help keep Lila safe. Lorenzo let out a yawn and closed his eyes for a moment; the strain of staring at the screen for so long was getting to him.

Sid slipped into the room with him and placed a cup of coffee next to him. The smell alone was refreshing and Lorenzo grabbed it up happily. "Thank you."

"No, I should be thanking you, making you work like this." Sid said. "This is delicate; I don't want her hurt any more than necessary."

"I understand." Lorenzo said and got back to work. "So I am looking at the Doctor's other patient records for some sort of pattern. The thing is he's smart, he never does the same thing twice." Lorenzo paused, "however, with Arnold and one other person he used a trucking company. It's a small detail that is easy to overlook, unless you look really hard."

"You think he will use them again to get Lila?" Sid asked

"It's a possibility, and in any case it's all we have to go on." Lorenzo said. "I will arrange a meeting with them." He smirked, "Perhaps a little persuasion is in order. I'll get them to tell me about how they are going to do the job." Lorenzo said.

"Great." Sid said and stood up, "thank you, man."

"One thing, Are you sure you want to let her know exactly what will happen?" Lorenzo asked, "It might be simpler just to let it happen. She could tense up more in the car if she knew and she could break more bones than she would otherwise."

"No one deserves to be put in a situation where they don't know every outcome. She needs to know the truth before she can make this decision." Sid said.

"She's already made the decision." Lorenzo said, "Why are you so worked up about this?"

"She just has a right to know, that's all." He said

* * *

The next morning Lorenzo slept in as the others woke for breakfast. Sid was nowhere to be found. Helga checked his room but no answer came, she could only hope that he wasn't in danger.

"Morning, Lila." Helga said as Lila passed her in the hall.

"I like this side of you." Lila said, "we could have been really good friends in elementary school if you would have shown me this side of you before. But I guess it can't be helped since I did have the affection of the man you love."

"Yeah…" Helga said bitterly.

"But don't you worry, we'll get him back and you can finally be together." She said, "I absolutely know that he'll want to be with you too."

"Thanks." Helga said, "You aren't all that bad."

"Perhaps; after everything is over we can become true friends."

"I'd like that." Helga said and she meant it.

"Has anyone seen Sid?" Harold asked from the kitchen.

"No, I was looking for him too." Helga said and joined everyone in the kitchen. "He must be running errands."

"We were supposed to go over the plan again." Said stinky.

"There's nothing to go over, it's the same plan as before." Helga said but looking at the faces of her friends she sighed, maybe going over the plan made them feel better. "Alright."

* * *

Arnold and Bella continued their trek north and were completely exhausted from the lack of sleep. They were too close to Eduardo's camp to stop for even a second. Their instinct to survive was their only guiding force but there was only so much the body could take.

Arnold's legs gave out and he tumbled to the ground pulling Bella with him. Bella sat up and looked over at his collapsed form. "Arnold?" she gently rolled him over and gasped at his condition. His eyes were heavy and his face was bright red. "Oh, no." she felt his forehead with the back of her hand and instantly pulled her hand away. "You have a fever, that's not good."

Bella got to her feet and glanced around for anything that could help her but she was unfamiliar with this part of the forest and none of the plants looked familiar. She couldn't call for help and risk those men finding them, and then Arnold would be dead for sure.

She settled for kneeling down near Arnold where she put his head in her lap before stroking his hair. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do." She said and cried softly. The moment Bella's tears landed on Arnold's cheek he opened his eyes.

"H-hey… don't cry." Arnold said.

"I don't want you to die. I am not useful to anyone." She said, "The people at my old village where right."

"What are you talking about?" Arnold asked. The sight of her broken form was giving Arnold new strength, he wanted to help her any way he could. "I'm going to be fine. Just over tired, once we find that village we will be safe."

"You cannot keep going like this." She said.

"You go." He said, "You seem to be stronger than me right now."

"I won't leave you behind."

"Just go. You can find the village and bring people back to help me." He said.

"If it rains again, you'll die for sure." She said, "Or any number of things could kill you in this forest." She continued. "How could you think that I would leave you here?"

"You have no choice. You can't carry me and I will only slow you down. If you keep heading north you should get to the village in a few hours. As for the weather, you can help me to that cave there and I will wait for you." He said. "I will be fine. Trust me."

"But…"

"Just do this. It's our only hope." He said.

"Alright, I won't be long." She said and helped Arnold to the cave. She left him some of the food and water they scavenged and turned to leave. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Arnold said and kissed Bella softly but firmly on the mouth. "I'll be waiting for you." He said and let her go. Bella smiled and hurried off to find the village. "If I don't make it, at lease you will be safe." He said to himself.

* * *

That night Sid came to Lila's door and knocked softly. She opened the door and smiled sweetly at him.

"You don't have to do that." He said.

"Do what?"

"Pretend that you are okay." He said as he walked in and shut the door. "I know that this is scary for you. I wish you didn't have to do this." He blushed and looked at his feet.

"I am scared but I will do anything for Arnold." She said.

"Arnold…" he said. "This is so wrong but I just need to say it." He said and looked up at her, "I'm kind of jealous of him now."

"What?"

He sighed, "Nothing." What was he thinking? Arnold was his friend and he was in trouble. He was disgusted with himself for thinking and voicing his selfish thoughts. He turned to leave but Lila stopped him.

"I think I know what you are trying to say." She said and kissed his cheek.

"You don't have to go through with this, you can back out." He said frantically. "We can always figure something else out."

"It's okay." She smiled. "It's the only plan that will work right now; if we wait it might be too late." She said, "How about this. There is a movie playing next month that I want to see. Let's go together." She said.

"A movie? How can you…"

"Now we have something to look forward to." She interrupted.

He paused, "Yeah."

"It's a promise." She said.

"It is." And he couldn't help himself. He pulled Lila closer and hugged her tightly breathing in her country apple smell. "Get some rest then." He pulled away and headed for the door but at the last moment he turned around and looked at her, "Wait, I know how it will happen and when."

She placed a finger against his lips and shook her head, "I would rather not know. All I want to think about is our movie date." She said.

Sid kissed her finger and turned to leave again, this time he didn't stop. He'd keep her safe, somehow.


	12. Chapter 12

Arnold's muscles were sore from sleeping crumpled in a ball and his skin was moist from the humid air. He pushed himself up carefully, fighting against the throbbing in his head and the heat that enveloped his body. He brought a hand to his forehead hoping to ease some of the pressure in his head. When that didn't work he decided to focus on something else. He looked out through the entrance of the cave; the forest was as alive as ever. Arnold leaned back against the stone wall and closed his eyes.

A white light filled the cave and Arnold opened his eyes but strained to see. When the light faded he couldn't believe his eyes. Helga stood before him. "How did you get here?"

"That's because of you." She said in a soft voice.

"What?" Arnold had a hard time keeping his thoughts together and he couldn't figure out how Helga was here. It didn't make any sense.

"You need to keep going, Arnold. People are depending on you, now, more than ever." She said.

"I know that. I am trying. I don't know how much more I can take though." He said, surprising himself. He always knew that he was strong for others because they needed him but deep down he had his doubts. He looked at Helga more closely, why was he telling her this? "hmm." He let out a soft moan when cool fingers cupped his cheek. He couldn't help but lean into the touch.

The fingers, Helga's fingers, lightly traced his facial features and he smiled, drowning in the sensation. The tingle traveled all over his body. Arnold reached out to take hold of something, anything. His head was burning even worse now. He grabbed for Helga but then she just vanished, leaving him in complete darkness.

"Helga…"

"Arnold!" he heard his name. Helga was there.

"Helga!"

Suddenly Bella stepped into the cave with two other men. Tribe's men from the village quickly came to Arnold's aid and hoisted him up on their shoulders.

"It's going to be okay, Arnold, I found the village. You'll be okay." Bella said and she spoke softly to Arnold as the two men carried him back.

Hours later Arnold woke to the sound of water dripping; he opened his eyes just as Bella brought up a rag to place on his forehead. "How are you feeling?" She asked softly.

"Where are we?" he asked, his head wasn't hurting anymore and he felt cooler but he couldn't remember much.

"I found the village and I told them everything. They wanted to help you right away. They gave you medicine for the fever and it seems to have worked, you look a lot better." She said.

"I can't believe it." He whispered.

"What do you mean? You were so confident." She said

"That was for you." He admitted. Bella glared and punched Arnold in the leg. "OW! What was that for?"

"Idiot." She said. "I was so worried about you but your words kept me going. Now you are basically saying that you thought you would die. Do you know how bad that would have made me feel?" she pouted.

"I'm sorry." He said and an elderly woman entered the room. They were in a small medical hut, the woman must have been a medicine woman. She crossed the room silently and took Arnold's hand in hers. She said something in Spanish and Bella looked a little shocked. "What did she say?"

"She's just surprised by how much you've grown." Bella said. "Do you know these people?"

"I was born here but I don't remember anyone since I was only a baby. Maybe she remembers me." Arnold said.

The old woman stroked Arnold's hair back and smiled. Arnold closed his eyes against the soft touch and something triggered in his mind. Helga. He was sure he had seen her. "Was there anyone else in the cave?"

"What?"

"Another person, I swear there was someone there." He said frantically and the old woman moved away from him, probably to make more medicine.

"Helga?" Bella asked.

"Yes!" Arnold sat up in excitement. "One of my friends. I thought they might be here."

"You were saying that name but I didn't see anyone else there. You had a really high fever after all. If I had shown up fifteen minutes later you would have been dead." She said, pain flooding her eyes. "They say that you see the people who are most important to you at the time of death."

"Important?" No that couldn't be right because Helga was just a friend but before that she bullied him mercilessly. "She is just a friend, but I do miss my friends and I hope they are okay. If Scheck goes after any of them…" Arnold trailed off.

"Shh. It's going to be okay. We made it to the village and once you are feeling better we can finish our plan. Then you can go home and see them again."

"You are coming with me." He said. "I'm not leaving you here alone." He said.

"Is that okay?"

"Yes, you are my friend too." He said and reached out his hand to cup her small face. "You are so cute. I don't want to see your worried face anymore." He paused and his inner strength returned, "You are right. We will get through this." He said and let his hand drop down to the bed.

The old woman returned with a small steaming cup of something. It smelled awful and Arnold twisted away from it. The woman spoke.

"She said that if you don't take it she'll hold you down and force you." Bella said. She was enjoying this too much. Arnold turned back, grabbed the medicine and swallowed it in one gulp. It burned his throat but it was worth it because the taste was horrific. A few moments later his body felt heavy and he fell back against the pillow and let sleep claim him.

"Get better soon, Arnold." Though he knew that Bella had said the words the voice was someone else's. Helga's.

* * *

Sid, Harold, and Lorenzo sat in a container van that was set up with various computers. Lorenzo had managed to "Borrow" a security van from one of his father's companies. The van was perfect for stakeouts and it was comfortable except for a rhythmic thumping sound which Sid produced. Sid was bouncing his leg up and down in anticipation.

"Could you please stop doing that?" Lorenzo said, annoyed. He really needed to concentrate.

"Sorry." Sid stopped.

"What's wrong with you?" Harold asked.

"I'm nervous." Sid said. "I don't like this."

"You should feel a little better; we were able to find the time that the trucking company was scheduled to cause the accident." Harold said. "At least it won't feel random and we are prepared."

Across the street Lila was coming out of a flower shop. She locked the door and headed to her car. They were going to strike on her way home from volunteer work. Sid looked away. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

"There she goes." Lorenzo said and Harold started the van and followed Lila carefully. "There's the truck, park over here." Lorenzo pointed to a shady spot on the side of the road and waited. Lila was parked at a red light just in front of a bridge. This was going to be very painful. Sid stood up. He couldn't watch this.

Harold reached back and grabbed his arm. "Don't." Harold said.

"How can I sit here and watch the woman I…" before he could finish he heard loud honking. He looked out at Lila's car; other people were honking a warning to her.

The big truck was coming up fast and the light was still red. Suddenly the light turned green but there was no way anyone's reaction time could keep them safe. Lila's car pulled forward slowly because of the small incline caused by the bridge.

The truck raced toward her and she turned her car slightly out of natural reaction and the truck hit her back bumper so hard it sent her car flying toward the edge of the bride. The car burst through the guardrail of the bridge and down into the river below.

* * *

Arnold was feeling better by nightfall and had gotten the okay from the old woman to walk around the village. Bella walked with him and was ready to support him if he needed it. The medicine seemed to work wonders because Arnold seemed like the first day she had met him.

"I'm sorry I worried you." He said for the fifth time since he had arrived at the village.

"Stop saying that. You are okay now." She said.

"Right." Arnold took her hand and they walked toward a huge fire in the middle of the village. It seemed to be some sort of party. Kids passed them, laughing and playing, as they ran toward the fire.

When Arnold and Bella reached the center of the commotion everyone stopped. An old but strong looking man stood up and raised his arms toward them. Everyone looked at Arnold and slowly, one-by-one, they bowed. The man's voice boomed and Bella was listening intently to what he was saying and translated.

"We are here to celebrate the return of Arnold." Said the man and the people cheered. "His parents have done so much for us and now we repay their kindness."

"They don't have to do this." Arnold said.

"As a thank you we will give Arnold and Bella the wedding they deserve." Bella translated that line without registering what she was saying until Arnold looked at her. "Wait, what?"

"Wedding!?" Arnold looked at the people around them and they all cheered before closing in around them to celebrate."


	13. Chapter 13

Lila slowly opened her eyes, the rhythmic beeping of hospital equipment drawing her out of sleep. The last thing she could remember was going over the edge of a bridge and into a blinding light. She glanced around the room and found that she was in the hospital which meant she was alive.

The door opened and Lila tried to sit up but a sharp pain stopped her, she grasped her side and cringed. "careful, my dear." The doctor crossed the room and peered down at her with a dark smirk. "you've cracked a couple of ribs." He said and brought a hand up to her face and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "I may get some lip about your broken ribs but at least your face is unscratched."

Lila jerked her head to the side in an attempt to escape the doctor's dangerous hands. The doctor laughed and said, "You have a strong spirit. If I wasn't going to get rich off of you I'd keep you for myself."

"Which reminds me, I am here to explain to you what's going to happen to you next," The doctor quietly walked around the bed and stopped in front of the IV drip to inspect it and turned back to her, "you will not be returning home to your family, No, to them you are dead." He whispered.

Lila listened to him, did he do this with all his victims? What a horrible man. She was glad to be one of the people putting an end to his schemes. She opened her mouth to speak but found she could not.

"What's wrong? Do you have something to say?" he laughed, "I had to make sure you wouldn't make a sound so I gave you a little something with your IV, something I invented. Works like a charm."

She glared at him and he laughed again, "You don't need your words it seems, your facial features are so expressive." He paused, "as I was saying, you are dead to everyone you know and love. You are going to start a new life," he finished and walked toward the door. I have a few errands to run now, don't you go doing anything foolish while I'm gone." he warned and walked out the door.

Lila brought her hand up and grasped the pendant she wore around her neck and took a deep breath. She was going to stop the doctor no matter what. She made herself sit up against the pain and looked at the IV in her arm. She yanked it free and threw her legs over the edge of the bed. The moment she put weight on her foot she went tumbling to the ground in a heap. She grabbed hold of the bed and pulled herself up again. She had to do her part of the plan before the doctor came back.

She slowly made her way across the room and carefully pulled the door open and peeked down the hall. The floor seemed to be abandoned except for a light at the end of the hall. She could hear a voice, it was the doctor, but it was too far away to hear what he was saying exactly. Lila assumed that it was his office.

The doctor grabbed his keys and left his office looking very pleased with himself. He walked down the hall and around the corner and was gone. Lila took a breath and shoved the heavy hospital door open and, using the wall for support, made her way to the doctor's office.

She slipped into the Doctor's office and pulled the hidden thumb drive from the pendant she wore and hurried to the computer. Lorenzo had said that all she had to do was plug the thumb drive in and it would do the rest. She took a breath to calm her nerves and plugged the thumb drive in and waited.

Suddenly, Lila heard a loud noise come from the end of the hall. Lila froze and glanced at the computer, it wasn't finished. She hurried to the door and peered down the hall, sure enough, the doctor had returned. What would she do if he found her in his office like this? Lila hurried back to the computer and urged the thumb drive to work faster.

After a few moments the doctor pushed open the door to his office and glared at the sight of his id badge hanging over the chair in the corner. Lila gripped the thumb drive between her hands and held her breath beneath the doctor's desk. She could hear is footsteps but they were fading.

When she was sure the doctor was gone, Lila crawled out from her hiding place and hid the thumb drive once more. She had the info but it would do her no good if the doctor were to find it before she had a chance to get it back to the guys.

"What the hell!? Woman? Where are you!?" the doctor's voice shook Lila to her core and she bit her lip to keep her fear in check.

"Trying to escape? Perhaps I didn't give you enough meds to keep you out. That's a shame because now it looks like I will have to give you something stronger," she could hear the maliciousness of his smirk.

Lila took a chance and glanced down the hall, it seemed that the doctor was looking for her in the opposite direction. She could see him glancing into each room of the abandon hospital. Now was her chance to run into a room he had already checked and just wait it out. As Lila made for the door her head began to spin and she doubled over in pain.

Lila sank to the ground and fought to catch her breath. Her adrenaline from earlier was wearing off. She let out a silent scream when the doctor yanked her up by her hair.

"I told you before, you can't make a sound," he said and let her fall to the ground hard. "I guess I will have to give you to him a little more bruised than I promise. Oh well, even if they cut the price down a little I will still have enough to live out the rest of my days in peace."

Lila glanced up at him from the corner of her eye and let out a sigh, at least he wasn't on to the plan, he only thought she was trying to run away.

The doctor kicked her hard in the ribs and smirked at the way she curled up. "redheads sure are nice, maybe I will get one for myself." He knelt down next to her and scooped her up. "time for little girls to go to bed."

Later that night, Lila found herself strapped down to the bed, a morphine drip hung by her side. No wonder she had to fight so hard to stay awake, at least the pain was down now though.

"Hey," came a soft voice.

Lila smiled, it sounded like Sid. What a pleasant and soothing voice he had. 'Hmm.' Something warm touched her cheek and she leaned into it.

"I'm getting you out of here."

"…What?" Lila's voice cracked and she came to her senses. Her shadowy savior came into view. It was Sid.

"I don't care if you didn't get the data I'm not letting you stay here any longer." Sid said and set about unbuckling Lila from the bed. He moved to the drip hanging from her arm and tugged it free in one swift motion. "can you walk?"

"Sid… what are you…"

"No, I guess you really can't," he scooped her up and carried her bridal stile to the window. "hold on to me as tight as you can." he said and Lila lightly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I-I got the data," she whispered. "let's save Arnold together."

"We will," he said. "Good job."

* * *

Arnold sat on a bench next to Bella and glanced down at his hands, what were the villagers thinking? "Bella, you have to tell them that we are not planning on getting married."

"Actually, Arnold…" she paused, unsure of how to tell him exactly.

"What? Will we offend them?"

"No, thats not it."

"What is it then?"

"We sort of are married now, by their standards, anyway. Once the leader gives his blessing it's done. The "wedding" part is the after party."

"… Well…" Arnold took Bella's hand and smiled lightly. "I guess we'll just go along with it while we are here, wife."

"Yes, husband." She teased. "who are we to disappoint people who have been so kind to us?"

"Right," he agreed. "we'll just treat this like a normal party, we know the truth," he said. "ah, but… not that I don't want to marry you or anything…. Or I mean…" Arnold blushed.

"I know, silly. We are way too young for that and i just met you and all."

"I wouldn't say too young…"

"That's true," she said and sat down on the large bed in the room.

"I'll sleep on the floor." Arnold said as he stood up from the bed. Bella grabbed his wrist and smiled softly.

"The bed is big enough for both of us. You've been sleeping on the ground for days, just stay in the bed with me. after all our journey isn't over. if Scheck and his men find this place…"

"Right." Arnold sat back down and looked at her. "we need all the rest we can get… but I want you to stay here."

"What? Why?" Bella gripped at the pendant around her neck, she was always being abandoned by the people she cared about the most.

"I want you to be safe. These people will take care of you." Arnold looks at her small face and brought a hand up to cup her cheek. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Bella leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. "I don't want to leave your side. I can help you."

"I know you can but I would rather live without the help than put you in danger," he said.

"Fine," she looked down and tore her face from his hand only to find that she was captured by his other hand. With her face between his hands, Arnold drew Bella closer and kissed her softly. She froze for a moment and slowly brought her hands up into his hair deepening the kiss.

Arnold pulled away slowly and looked away. "a promise kiss. I will come back for you when this is all over."

Bella shook her head and took her necklace off and handed it to him, "You will return that to me, the next time you see me."

Arnold nodded and slipped the necklace around his neck and tucked the pendant beneath his shirt. "it's a promise then. Let's get some rest then."

Arnold and Bella slipped under the covers and stared up at the ceiling in silence before Bella turned to him, "Good night, husband," she teased.

Arnold let out a small chuckle and said, "Good night, wife," and beneath the covers their hands met and together they drifted into dream land.


	14. Chapter 14

Arnold woke with a start after a night terror, his heart was pounding and his breath was coming out in short hard puffs. Bella slept soundly next to him and he glanced down at her for a moment. It had been nearly five days since they had reached the village and they were safe but Arnold knew that eventually Scheck or the others would find them.

He couldn't put Bella or the village in danger that way, not after all they had done for him. Arnold reached over and lightly shook Bella's shoulder. "hmm? What?"

"I think I should leave." Arnold said. "It's not right to put these people in danger."

"Okay, I'll get ready and we can go." Bella said as she sat up in bed.

"No, I mean, I think I should go on my own." Arnold said, "Before you say anything, I want to protect you too. If I can make a trail leading them away from this village it should keep everyone out of harms way. You can blend into this village better than I can so it should be safe for you."

"But we are a team, I can't let you go off on your own." She said, "I am worried about you too."

"I understand that but this is my mess and I would feel better knowing you were here. I will come back for you."

"I can see that you are serious about this." Bella sighed, "Fine, but only if you get back here in five days. If you are not here by midnight on the fifth day I will come looking for you." She said and reached around her neck to remove her pendant. "Take this with you. If your plan backfires, at least they wont have this." She said and placed the pendant around Arnold's neck.

"Thank you."

"Well, it's unlikely that your plan will fail so now, that pendant is a promise that you will return."

"It's a promise." Arnold agreed.

000

Arnold set out that afternoon feeling refreshed and alive, there was nothing like a night in a warm bed, even with his night terrors, it was better than sleeping in the forest.

Arnold made his way out of the village and into the forest, leaving obvious clues for whoever was following him. He knew that the village would be the first place they would check unless they had hard evidence that Arnold wasn't there.

Arnold took everything he had learned from his grandfather about hiding from an enemy and threw it window. He was leaving obvious animal traps and deep footprints in wet ground. He broke branches and left wrappers as a trail. Hopefully they weren't smart enough to figure out his plan or his day would be wasted.

After a few hours of trail leaving, Arnold grew hungry. He moved away from his fake trail and searched the tree tops for fruit. Gathering food was a lot easier when Bella was guiding him though. He tried to remember what little she had taught him about the terrain and ended up with a small amount of fruit but it was enough to last him the night.

Arnold sat down on a fallen tree and started eating, his mind drifted back to one of his favorite books. And then, again, his mind drifted back to Helga. She was his favorite author, he never got the chance to tell her how amazing her books were. He was too busy at his own job to have time for any of his friends.

Maybe if he had made more time with them he wouldn't be feeling so lonely now. If they really all thought he was dead then how must they feel knowing that he didn't have time for them and then it was over. Arnold felt awful, if he ever got the chance to see them again he'd make sure not to neglect them.

He finished the fruit and wrapped himself in a blanket to rest for the night, fires were still too dangerous. He looked at the edges of the blanket and noticed a soft shade of pink in the weaving, it reminded him of the bow Helga wore when they were in elementary school.

He was thinking about her a lot, it was strange. How many times had he thought of her just in these past three weeks? More than he had since they all graduated high school.

Wow, high school graduation, he hadn't thought of that night in a while, though it was one of his most treasured memories.

* * *

***Graduating Class of 2010***

* * *

Arnold got in line and with a miracle of engineering managed to fit his blue hat beneath his mortar-board hat. He proudly watched as his friends graduated and at the end when they were all free for the day they headed out to Dino Land. They were never too old and this time the park was rented out to the graduating class for the whole day.

Arnold remembered seeing Helga there actually smiling, he remembered thinking that Helga had a beautiful smile. He made his way over to her and noticed that she was typing away on a tablet. "You doing homework? We just graduated."

"Not homework, as if it's any of your business." She said, "I am writing a book." She said without looking up at him.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile so much, when you aren't tormenting me." He said.

"I can take a break from this if you want."

"Uh, no thanks." He said. "I think it's great that you are writing and seem really happy about it but this is our last night as classmates. Come next year we'll all be somewhere else." Arnold glanced at the roller coster and said, "Why don't you ride the Tyrannosaurus Wrecks. I know the name is a little frightening but I'm sure it doesn't wreck."

"You are so lame. As if that ride could scare me." She sighed, hit save and looked up at him. "If you really have nothing better to do than bother me then I guess I can go on one ride with you."

"Cool. Let's go." Arnold held out his hand to her. "so you don't get lost." Helga hesitated for a moment and took his hand.

Arnold looked up at the blue sky through the trees, would he ever ride the Tyrannosaurus Wrecks again or read another one of Helga's bestsellers? He yawned and nodded to himself, of course he would.

The next morning, after having a dreamless sleep, Arnold woke and set to work on his fake path. He made his way across a river and started to leave fresh tracks. He came to a part of the forest with fallen trees and sunken pits of earth.

Arnold walked along the river bank for a while before deciding to circle back because he had done enough to ensure the village would be safe. Also, if he wanted to make it back within his five day limit, he'd have to head back now in order to make sure his real tracks were covered.

He clutched the pendant that was kept safe beneath his shirt and thought of Bella, what was her role in all of this. Scheck had gone through a lot of trouble to get her alive. Scheck never did anything without a reason, it might be better to leave Bella in the village until he found out. But Bella didn't seem like the type to lie about coming to find him if he was late, and she would be caught again for sure.

Arnold walked along lost in his musings when suddenly his leg caught on a branch, causing the foundation beneath him to slip away. Arnold let out a cry and began sliding down a steep hill of mud and leaves. Caught in a landslide, Arnold tried to keep his bearings but it wasn't easy.

Then the ride was over when he crashed into something hard. Whatever he crashed into tumbled down to the solid ground with him for a moment before they both stopped.

Arnold looked down at the object beneath him and blinked a few times, was this a hallucination?

"Ugh, what the?" a voice came from beneath him, "A-Arnold!?"

"Helga?" Arnold said and leaned in closer to make sure she was really real.

His closeness was making Helga's heart beat faster and then she noticed their position and shoved him off. "Get off."

Arnold stood up and offered his hand to her, she took it. "What are you doing here?"

"We came looking for you, I didn't think it would be this easy though." She smiled.

"We?"

"I went out to look for food and water but everyone else is back at camp." She said, "Gerald, Stinky, Sid, Lorenzo, and Phoebe." She said, "The others are holding down the fort at home."

"I don't understand though. You guys must have thought I was dead."

"We did for a little while… but we figured something wasn't right." She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she single handedly figured out he was alive. "Let's go, we can take you home now."

"Wait…" Arnold said, "There is more to this than what you think. We all need to talk about the pieces of this puzzle we have. I am heading to a village right now. You can all come with me but we need to be careful about covering our tracks."

Helga nodded and noticed that, not once through that conversation, had Arnold let go of her hand. "Um…"

"I'm sorry, this is just too weird." He said, keeping a hold on her hand, "I was thinking of you earlier." He said, matter-of-factly which caused Helga to blush.

"You were?"

"Yeah, about graduation." He said, "I thought of you before too but now you are here, in person. I don't want to let you go. It's been sort of lonely out here." He said and hugged her tightly. "Let's go see the others."

All Helga could do was pull Arnold, by the hand, through the forest to her camp. She couldn't believe that he would admit his feelings so freely. She wished she could do that, but sadly, the only place she could confess her feelings were in her books. Between the binding of her novels, were hidden words of love, she had spent her life pushing people back but in reality she wanted people to be close. She wanted to care for everyone, she wanted to love but it was safer to leave that to her fictional characters.

"Look man, we can just pile leaves on these sad twigs and call it a shelter." Gerald's voice was unmistakable and Arnold watched him for a moment before walking over to him.

"Yeah, look what I found." Helga said.

"How the heck?" Stinky said, "No way."

"I can't believe it." Said Lorenzo

"That was unlikely but I suppose it had a one percent chance probability." Phoebe added.

Just like that, everyone gathered around Arnold and welcomed him back into their lives. Arnold never thought he'd see everyone so soon and he was more than grateful but if he wanted to go back to his normal life he'd have to keep them all safe.


	15. Chapter 15

Helga watched from a distance as the others gathered around Arnold, it was like a dream. She'd seen this vision so many times when they were in school together; soon those days grew few and far between, and suddenly they were all older and had no time for each other. Helga never thought she'd see it ever again when she learned Arnold was dead. Now she needed a moment to commit the moment to memory. This wasn't exactly an ideal moment to save a memory but Helga wanted to take what she could get and never take anything for granted again.

Arnold was animated in his explanation of what had happened while Helga and the others were searching for him. Arnold was right, this thing was bigger than any of them had thought. It was more than an act of revenge for Scheck, no, he was after something else.

Helga remembered the words of the Doctor after she had stopped him…

* * *

**Earlier**

**Hillwood General Hospital**

* * *

Helga strolled into the building, upon Sid's order that the coast was clear, and slammed a thick folder down on the reception desk. She looked at the woman sitting there and smiled sweetly. "I need to see Dr. Cooke"

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked, her hands itching to press the security button because Helga had a threatening aura about her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." Helga smirked, "my colleague and I-" as Helga spoke Stinky stopped beside her. "Have an important meeting with the Doctor, I'm sure he'd be happy to fire you for making us late…" Helga leaned in close and read the receptionist's name tag, "Pam."

Pam's fingers slid across the keyboard of her computer with expertise, her eyes were searching for the appointment entry, an entry she would find because of Lorenzo. "Right this way, Ms. Pataki." She said and stood up. Her heels clicking as she led the way through the door to the offices.

Helga scooped up the heavy folder and stumbled a bit, thankfully Pam didn't see it, because Helga didn't lose the perception of strength she was giving off. Stinky steadied her with a smile, the warmth of his hand on her arm lingered for a moment, bringing her back to a time in elementary school when they had pretended to date. Helga shook her head of those memories and followed after Pam.

"Let me carry that folder." Stinky offered.

"No, I want to be the one to hand it to him. He's lucky this is all I am giving him." I growled. That damn Doctor looked her in the eye and told her Arnold was dead and at the same time some men were taking Arnold away from her. She'd never forgive him for that, this wasn't nearly enough justice but it would have to do, Helga couldn't rot in jail for murder when Arnold was waiting for her.

They came to a stop in front of the Doctor's office and Pam knocked softly. "Doctor, your two-o-clock is here." She said and turned back to look at Helga before leaving them.

"It think she's on to us." Stinky whispered in Helga's ear but she didn't have time to respond before the door opened.

"I had a feeling someone was coming for me." The Doctor said and rounded his desk before taking a seat in his chair. "It didn't take long to see that someone had hacked my account, not to mention the money from the deal went missing the moment that girl vanished."

"Yeah, Lila is a good actress; I need to thank her later." Helga said.

"Look, we can work together, you seem to have a good network going." The Doctor looked up at Stinky. "I have many more patients that could easily be ready."

"You think we came here to take over your business?" Helga leaned in. the Doctor was sick, he was willing to sell people like they were nothing more than objects. He was ready to rip more families apart without a second thought. "You son of a Bitch!" Helga nearly leapt over the table at the Doctor but Slinky's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back.

"She's crazy." The Doctor said to Stinky.

"Let go!" Helga shouted, "This bastard doesn't deserve to live a comfy life behind bars on tax-payer money."

"Behind bars?" the Doctor's face visibly blanched.

"That's right, we have more than enough evidence to hand over to the cops. We even caught you in an exchange of money and saying things to patients you think are asleep." Helga said after calming down enough for Stinky's hold to lax. "It's all here in this handy folder, it's pretty thick, I bet it would get you more life sentences than you can count."

"What do you want?" the Doctor's face grew dark and his fingers twitched, he wanted to reach for something.

"I want the location of Arnold." Helga said.

"You have the files." He smirked, "oh, you must be here because your little hacker isn't able to unencrypt the locations." He finally moved his hand to the top drawer of his desk, pulling it open he produced a small handgun.

Helga bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming at him, she had to keep her cool. "I came here to make a deal." She said.

"Why should I make a deal with you?" the Doctor said, "even if you release those files to the cops they won't be able to do anything. You think I got this far on my own? You think that grave keeper was the only one in my arsenal?" Helga's eyes dilated at the realization, "that's right, I have a few cop buddies."

"You…" Helga was trying hard not to show her emotions but this was too much, she didn't get this close to getting Arnold back to fail now.

"So before those files see the light of day my guys will see that it's destroyed." He laughed and pointed his gun at Helga's chest. "You can leave those files right there and get out of my office or I can kill you in an act of self-defense, which will it be?"

"You think you can stop me from killing you if you pull that trigger?" Stinky gave a glare that Helga had only seen once when they were in high school and someone was picking on Sid. A glare only reserved for protecting the ones Stinky truly cared about.

After what seemed like hours the doctor laughed, "I knew there was a reason I liked working with you." he pulled his gun back but it was still ready if he needed it.

Helga let out a breath and watched him. "Give us the location and we will be out of your hair." She said, "It's only one location."

"I do have the money from that job, alright, I guess it couldn't hurt to hand over one location." He said. "But I'm not stupid, what's to stop you from releasing the files once I give you what you want? I want insurance."

"Insurance?"

"Yes, if I give you that location and my cop friends keep me out of jail I will still have a very angry client on my hands." He said. "He's after more than just revenge."

"Who is your client?" Helga asked.

"First I want to know you will keep me safe from him."

"That's easy." She said, "Who is it?"

"Scheck." The Doctor said and Helga's legs nearly gave out.

"The safest place is in prison, you should know that. Scheck is practically untouchable." She said. "It seems you are the one with the choice to make, you can hide this and eventually we will find out where my friend is and Scheck can come after you. Or you can confess to get a lighter sentence and stay safe." She said. "What's it gonna be?"

The Doctor sat back in his seat and closed his eyes before switching the safety of his gun back on. He let out a long sigh and opened his eyes again. "Well played, I really wish we could have worked together. Very well, I will confess."

"Good, now what is it that Scheck wants and where is my friend?"

"Deep in the jungles of San Lorenzo there is base," the doctor wrote down the latitude and longitude on a slip of paper and gave it to Helga, "Scheck is dangerous, what he's after is insane." He said.

"What is he after?"

"The ancient power of the Green Eyes."

* * *

**Present**

* * *

Scheck was after an ancient power. Helga didn't know what that power was but she knew it wouldn't be good if Scheck got it.

"Arnold!" Helga turned her attention to the entrance of their makeshift camp as a woman she didn't know entered the camp.

Bella wore an angry glare and stopped right over to Arnold. "You said you would come back to me. You have any idea how worried I've been?" to Helga's surprise the woman hugged Arnold tightly.

"Bella? I'm sorry." He pulled away and held her at arm's length, "Wow, you really did come looking for me."

"Of course." It was then that Bella noticed the others were staring at her. "Oh…"

"Right." Arnold snapped to attention, "Guys, this is Bella. My wife." He teased.

"Your what?!" Helga gasped as she made her way over to the group.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Gerald asked.

"It's a long story and we don't have time to get into it. Scheck is after her and the Green Eyes and we need to figure out why." Arnold said.

After introductions were over and everyone shared their little part of the puzzle they were left with even more questions. As it turned out, now that Bella had joined them, Arnold was planning on getting out of the village they had been staying in. He couldn't risk putting more people in danger.

Bella seemed to fit right in with everyone; she shared funny stories and laughed along with everyone's jokes as if she had always been a part of the group. Helga, though, blinded by jealousy, would have easily become friends with her if not for Arnold's announcement.

There Helga faced danger after danger to find Arnold and here he was marrying some girl he didn't even know. Helga stomped off to be alone at some point and sat at the edge of the camp. Helga looked at her hand, the hand Arnold refused to let go of earlier and a pain stabled through her chest. She began to think that letting the Doctor shoot her would have been less painful.

The vision of her hand began to blur and Helga blinked away her tears before clenching her hand into a fist. She punched the ground beneath her and pictured doing the same thing to Scheck's face. He'd taken all he was going to take from her. Helga would stop Scheck no matter the cost. She had nothing to lose because once again Arnold's heart was not hers.

"There you are." Helga turned to find Arnold smiling back at her, as if the world around her wasn't crumbling into blackness. Helga let out a soft sigh and was thankful that the night sky concealed her teary eyes. "I never said thank you." He said.

"For what?" Helga said a little harsher than she wanted to. He ignored it.

"Not giving up on me and for coming to find me." He said.

"Yeah, well I knew something was up with that Doctor. The writer in me is always looking at things from different perspectives."

"Is that what is was?" he asked.

"Doi." He laughed. "What?"

"It's just that no one says that anymore." He said. "I missed you."

Helga could feel the anger rising within her, anger she thought was long gone. After finding her calling as an author and escaping her toxic family the anger vanished. Or so she thought. Taking a breath she looked at Arnold and bit back what she wanted to say in exchange for "I wish I could say the same thing." She said, leaving Arnold and heading back to her tent without looking back.


	16. Chapter 16

Phoebe watched as Gerald removed his shirt before sinking it into the water. It had taken a while to reach the river and it was hot so his body was coated in a light layer of sweat. Phoebe swallowed hard and watched as his smooth chocolate skin pulled around his muscles while he moved. He reached into the water and caught few small fish in a net he fashioned out of his shirt.

"I don't want to eat fish for a year after this." He called to her unaware that he was putting on a show.

"But you love my homemade sushi." Phoebe teased although, after eating nothing but random river fish for a week she was done too.

"I think this might be enough for tonight." He said as he walked up to her. Phoebe's mouth hung open slightly at the sight of water dripping down between Gerald's well-toned abs.

"Uh-huh…" Phoebe said and shook her head. "I've got enough fruit too." She held up a sack, filled to the brim with fruit as if to prove that she had been working rather than just watching her husband.

"Okay, let's get back. I have another shirt back at camp." He said.

"There's no rush then?" she said teasingly, he picked up on it and gave her a look. "Just kidding."

"Come on, woman." He said and headed back to camp with her, they had only traveled for twenty minutes to find the river and it wouldn't take look to get back but Gerald felt odd. Something was different. "Do you hear that?"

"No." Phoebe said, "What?" she listened, "I don't hear anything."

"Right. The birds have stopped chirping." He said.

Now that he mentioned it, Phoebe distinctly remembered hearing the birds when they had first arrived at the river because it reminded her of their wedding at the botanical gardens. Phoebe moved closer to Gerald as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

"We should hurry back." She said suddenly.

* * *

Lorenzo's shelter looked more like a computer lab than a shabby shelter in the middle of a jungle. Several wires snaked around the small shelter only to find their way to a strategically placed solar panel. Helga wondered just what sort or work Lorenzo did on the side.

Currently Lorenzo was looking at a map of the jungle with Arnold leaning over his shoulder. "There." Arnold said suddenly, they had been studying the map of the jungle for about an hour and everyone let out a sigh at Arnold's exclamation. "This part matches up with the map my parents left me."

"Are you sure?" Lorenzo asked, he used the curser on the screen to enlarge the area and turn the map so that they could see beneath the surface of the earth. "You see that?" he pointed to a small blob of deep violet in the center of the map. "That's a mass of pressure, I wouldn't be surprised if this place was covered in lava within the hour."

"I don't know what to tell you, that's it." Arnold said.

"It'll be really dangerous to look for them." Lorenzo put in a final plea but Arnold gave him a look that said he didn't care. "We better find the Green Eyes soon. If they've been around as long as you say then maybe they have a safe place for us to stay." Lorenzo held his breath. "At least there haven't been any earthquakes."

Suddenly Sid burst in, he was holding a small device in his hands, upon closer inspection Lorenzo saw that it was a mini-tracker. "I guess I was wrong about the earthquakes." He said, "Where did this come from?" he looked up at Sid.

Sid's face paled and he was having a hard time swallowing. "I don't know. I was looking for my comic book in my bag and I dumped it out when I couldn't find it, then this thing came out."

"That bastard." Helga said, "I knew it was too easy. The doctor must have done this."

"How? That doctor was turning himself in to the police while we were packing for this trip." Stinky said.

"We don't have time to figure that out now because if this tracker has been on Sid this whole time and the doctor is still working with Scheck then they know where to find us." Lorenzo said. "This is bad. Not to mention we've been in one place for a long time."

"Gerald and Phoebe are still out collecting food." Arnold said. "You guys pack up, I will go look for them. Give me the tracker." He held out his hand and Sid dropped it inside.

"I'm sorry guys." Sid said. "I should have been more careful."

"It's not your fault, Sid." Bella said, her comforting voice was making anger bubble up within Helga. She didn't know him or any of them for that matter, the way she said Sid's name like that, with familiarity, it was sickening.

Helga tore her gaze away from Bella and instead focused on a tree falling in the distance. "Guys I think our time has run out, unless trees just fall down for no reason around here." Helga pointed toward the front of the camp where trees were falling like dominos.

"Shit." Arnold cursed, "What's he going to do, run us over with those tanks and be done with it?" He grabbed Bella's hand and gripped the tracker tight in his other hand. "Get out of here guys, I'll meet up with you later" Arnold looked at Bella and kissed her lightly, "Take them to the village. I'm going to try and lead Scheck and his men away"

"But…I don't want to leave you." She said, her brown eyes brimming with love and warmth. She was as bright as the sun and the air around her was light and friendly. Helga found it hard not to feel drawn to her but fought it and looked away sharply. Stinky gave her a small pat on the shoulder.  _It will be okay_  he smiled at her and helped Lorenzo gather all the equipment they could.

When Bella finally left Arnold's side her face changed, she was ready to fight, to proudly meet Arnold's expectations, to keep his friends safe. Bella picked up a pack from the ground, one she had arrived with, it was filled with natural medical remedies and secrets of the jungle people. She watched as Stinky, Sid and Lorenzo zipped up the last bag of equipment.

The sound of trees falling was coming closer coupled with a grinding sound, the tanks, as Arnold had guessed, were going to be upon them in moments. The advantage was that Scheck didn't know Arnold was amongst his friends. Arnold grabbed a small bag and made sure he still had the tracker before heading off in the direction of the tanks.

Helga watched the whole scene in disbelief and let out a growl. She'd be damned if she let Arnold take all the glory on this trip. Revenge was hers to have as well. "I'm going with Arnold." She said and ran off after her beloved before anyone could protest.

* * *

"Hey, football head." Helga called to him, the name felt weird to say because she hadn't said it in so long and it threw her off for a moment.

"What are you doing here? Go back to the others." He said even though he slowed to a jog, allowing her to catch up.

"Why are you trying to do this alone?" Helga asked, slightly out of breath. "You always do this: your friends are in danger and you lose your head."

"I'm trying to keep everyone alive." He said.

"And why is that your job?" she asked, though she knew Arnold loved all of them more deeply than anyone. His family was sparse to begin with and their circle of friends, she supposed, were Arnold's true family.

"This is all my fault." He admitted. Helga stopped walking for a moment before continuing to follow him.

"Is that what you think?" she asked.

"It's not what I think. It's what I know." Arnold said, stopping suddenly and Helga had to jerk back to keep from bumping into him.

"Why? Because you were born here?" she said and he turned to look at her sharply.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

Oops. Helga sighed, "There's no way to get out of it now… I was there when you were reading the journal out loud on the day you found it." Hopefully he wouldn't ask for more because she'd hate to have to admit that she'd been stalking him.

"I didn't think anyone was there…" he turned to look at Helga with a critical eye but exchanged the expression for a weak smile. "This is where I was born and I can feel that bond. And because I had to save my fake hometown from Scheck…"

Helga slapped Arnold hard and looked at her hand in shock, she never thought she'd ever actually hurt him. "Stupid!"

Arnold cupped his freshly redden cheek, "what was that for?"

"What you did for Hillwood was the right thing. You brought all of us together and you fought to keep it that way. If that's not something to fight for then I don't know what is. What Scheck is doing is not because of you, it's because he's evil and he doesn't care about anything but power. He's been looking for the Green Eyes even before he knew you had ties to them."

"What?"

"The doctor told me Scheck was after some power the Green Eyes have. The fact that he went after you was a bonus for him." She said.

"What power?"

"I don't know but I don't want you to ever regret fighting to save Hillwood again." She said, "I never would have forgiven myself if you hadn't stopped me from siding with my dad."

"How did I stop you," he asked and there was something else he had always wondered, "why did you help me back then?" Arnold paused and remembered the kiss they had shared at Scheck's tower. "Helga…"

Suddenly the ground rumbled beneath them, Arnold could smell fire and oil, it filled his senses and caused him to cough. "We have to go." He grabbed Helga's hand and pulled her through the jungle.

"What's the plan?" Helga called as they ran.

"To use the tracker to buy us some time." Arnold said and came to a stop suddenly. He found a thin three and pulled it down toward him. Once Helga figured out what he was doing she helped him. They used the tree as a slingshot and sent the tracker flying over the tanks and into the river where it floated away.

"That should give us a few hours. We need to find Gerald and Phoebe and get to the village." Arnold said.

"This is getting out of control. How are we going to stop all those tanks?" Helga watched as the convoy slowly turned to follow the tracker.

"I'll Think of something." he said and just as Helga was about to argue with him she bumped into him as he stopped yet again.

"What the heck?"

"I found something." Arnold said and bent down to pluck a small jade necklace from the leafy ground.

"Let me see that." Helga held the necklace tenderly in her hands and felt the tears roll down her cheeks. The sudden realization of what the necklace symbolized washed over her leaving her cold. "This is Phoebe's" was all she could manage.


	17. Chapter 17

Bella lead the small group to the village where they were greeted with open arms. Lorenzo and Bella spent most of their time translating back and forth between the group and the villagers. The small group was offered a hut, in which they unpacked and waited further instruction from Arnold.

They had stopped hearing the tanks in the distance only moments ago but Bella wasn't too happy about it. It could mean that the plan to divert the tanks worked or that Scheck's men didn't have a reason to pursue them anymore because Arnold had been captured.

"You know if we stay here too long then it won't matter that we escaped." Lorenzo said as he finally set up his computer using the wires and solar panels he'd used before.

"You asked the villagers yourself," Sid said, "the volcano is nowhere near here."

"I know but I have a feeling that we'll all be getting closer to it than we what if we are going to see this thing through. I mean we could just let the volcano take care of Scheck and his men."

"We can't risk that." Bella said. "I'm sure that man knows exactly what he's doing. He found my village and we weren't on the map, just like the village we're in now."

"What exactly does he want with you?" Stinky asked.

"He wants me because my necklace is a Green Eye's artifact but I really don't know anything about them. My mother gave the necklace to me and her mother gave it to her." She said, "My mother said that someday I might have to do something great."

"I wonder what that is." Sid said, more to himself than anyone else.

"All I know is that I can't let Scheck take it." She said. "I don't want any more people to die because of me." She looked at all of them and took a deep breath. "You are all Arnold's precious friends, I don't want you guys to get hurt either."

"What are you talking about?" Lorenzo asked, "We all came out here of our own accord."

"You are so great…" she said, "I'm awful…"

"Don't say that."

"You don't understand. I was scared, when my village was being attacked I hid." She said. "My friends tried to protect me and they were killed in front of me. I should have given myself up."

"Bella…" Sid said, "Any one of us is prepared to give our lives for the other, which is a true bond of friendship. Your friends knew you were important. If you start doubting yourself now then your friends gave their lives for nothing." He said.

"You are right but… I just- Watching all of you made me miss them so much." She confessed. "I won't let anything happen to you guys."

"We'll take care of each other." Stinky said. "When Arnold gets back with the others we can come up with a plan and get out of this jungle."

* * *

"Helga!" Arnold grabbed for her arms and ducked when her fists came at him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her close until she stopped moving.

"No!" I need to find Phoebe and Gerald. "I'm not giving up."

"I understand how you feel, Gerald was my best friend." He said, was? Helga shoved him away.

"What's going on with you? You seem fine with it."

"I am not but someone has to keep a level head, if I break down too then we won't stop Scheck and the rest of us will die."

"Stop saying it like that. We haven't found their bodies, right, so they have to be here." Helga fell to her knees and continued tugging at tree roots trying to uncover her friends.

"Helga…" Arnold placed a hand on her back and knelt down next to her. He plucked up her bleeding hands, they had been searching for a couple of hours and found no other traces of Phoebe or Gerald. "We have to get back to the others. Maybe Phoebe just dropped that and they headed back a while ago." He said.

Helga looked up at him with wet eyes and before a feeling of longing came over her she looked away. She knew Arnold was right but couldn't stop. She'd lost him, she didn't need to lose her rock. Phoebe was her sane side, Phoebe kept her grounded.

* * *

Twilight was upon the group when a loud sound came tumbling toward them. Lorenzo recognized it instantly. He ducked his head out of the hut and saw three helicopters in the distance. If Scheck had men in the air then there would be no escape for them now.

The villagers were roused from their huts in an effort to discover what was making the foreign sound but Lorenzo urged them back inside. If Scheck was willing to wipe out Bella's village then he'd be willing to wipe out another just to get at Arnold's friends.

Sid came running from the watering hole, where he was helping villagers gather the precious resource, to stand at Lorenzo's side. Shortly after that, Stinky and Bella joined them.

"How did they find us?" Sid asked

"Scheck must have known to check the surrounding area for us." Lorenzo said. "This is bad. These Villagers are in danger."

"What do we do now? If we leave then whoever's in those helicopters will torture these people to get answers." Bella said.

"We stay." Sid said. "No matter what we have to protect these people."

The Helicopters cut through the air and when they were close enough they sank down slowly, kicking up dirt as they did. After all three had landed one opened the door and shoved, what looked like a body, out and onto the hard ground. They gave out a loud grunt of pain and Sid's eyes focused on them.

"Lila?"

Lila pushed herself up and sat back, looking at the ground in shame. "I've brought you a present." The doctor stepped out of the now quiet helicopter and stopped next to Lila. He grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her to her feet. "Red heads really are fun."

"Sid, I'm sorry." Lila called over the whoop whoop whoop of the helicopters as their propellers slowed.

"Yes, tell them. Tell them what you did." The doctor urged.

"I had to, he said he'd kill you and your family."

"Little bitch. You can't trust women, they can easily be persuaded to betray anyone." He laughed and let Lila fall back to the ground. "Wondering how I found you?"

"Let her go, you bastard!" Sid snarled.

"You might not want her back after you find out. She's the one who planted that tracker on you."

"I'm sorry." Lila muttered pathetically

"It's not your fault." Sid called and took a threatening step toward the doctor only to be greeted by the sound of automatic weapons all around them.

"Not so fast. See, you can come with us quietly or I can make you watch as we take out as many villagers as we can then take you anyway." The doctor licked his lips, as far as he was concerned he had won. "When Scheck finds out what I've done I will be rich!"

"You bastard!" completely out of character, Lila lunged up at the doctor and grabbed his arm before biting down hard on his hand. The Doctor shook her off with a cry and back-handed her hard across the cheek. She fell down once more in a heap at his feet, where he kicked her a couple of times.

Sid was hot with rage but dared not move for fear that anyone else would be hurt because of his actions. Sid's fingernails were digging into his palms and he could feel the warmth of sticky blood coating his fingers.

"Get over there with the rest of them." The doctor and pushed Lila toward the group and turned to his men. "If they try anything, kill the villagers." He ordered.

* * *

Gerald pushed himself off of the ground, his head was pounding and his body stung from the multitude of cuts he'd received from Scheck's fleet of tanks. Next to him phoebe was unconscious but still breathing. He pushed himself up, ignoring the headache between his eyes and focused on the woman he loved. He crawled over to her and shook her gently. She was covered in small cuts but nothing she couldn't handle.

"hmm? What happened?" Phoebe asked as Gerald puller her up into a sitting position.

"I don't know but I thing we are out of danger. I don't hear the tanks." He said. Phoebe sniffed the air a few times and shook her head. "We aren't out of the woods yet." She pause, "or rather the forest."

"Fire, in the distance?"

"Yeah, it's probably the volcano, we don't have much time." She said but before they could make a move to leave, Gerald and Phoebe were acutely aware that they were surrounded. Eyes peered out from the trees and bushes, they were surrounded.

"I don't think we're going to have to worry about the volcano…" Gerald said.


	18. Chapter 18

Doctor Cooke entered the tent containing Arnold's friends and smiled at their defiant looks. He enjoyed those looks, his patients would give them that look just before they were shipped off to their "new" lives. It didn't take long to beat that look out of people, people were easy to break and this lot would be just as easy. The fact that they cared for the villagers was enough to tell him that.

Sid watched as the Doctor came to a stop in front of Stinky's cell. "So glad I caught you. I guess you think that file scares me."

"I Recon it doesn't seeing as how you are here." He said.

"You are a smart one, after all." He said, "I got the impression from your accent that you were and idiot." Having heard things like that all his life Stinky brushed off the comment with a shrug. "I bet you are wondering how I managed to get away."

"Not really…" Stinky muttered.

"But it's such a great story." Dr. Cooke said, "You see I was about to turn myself in but then I thought, no, I can just catch Arnold and his friends, sell Arnold back to Scheck and the rest of them off to the highest bidder. I could live the rest of my life on my very own island. So you can hand over the file to whomever you want, by the time anyone goes through it I will be long gone."

"We'll hunt you down!" Sid said, "There won't be anywhere you can hide." He warned and Lila, lucky enough to share a cell with her beloved, grabbed his arm to get him to stop.

Dr. Cooke wheeled around and grabbed Sid by the front of his shirt then yanked him hard toward the cell bars. "You have a lot of guts talking to me that way. I'm being nice when I tell you I will sell you off because it would be easier for me to kill you all."

"Stop, please, don't hurt him!" Lila pleaded.

"Oh, my little redhead, how can you stick up for him, after your betrayal, do you really think he can ever forgive you?" the doctor laughed when a flash of pain washed over Lila's face.

"Don't listen to him," Sid said, "you had no choice." He said.

"I'm getting a little sick of hearing your voice." Dr. Cooke said, shoving Sid back away from the bars where he lost balance and fell to his knees. The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, he unlocked the door and stalked toward Sid as he reached behind his back to get his gun.

"What are you doing?!" Lila stepped between the Doctor and Sid as the gun came into view. "This is my fault, kill me, not him!"

"Get out of my way, wretch!" the Doctor kicked Lila out of the way and held the barrel of his gun to Sid's forehead. "What a shame, I bet someone would've enjoyed beating the defiance out of you."

Sid held his head high, he wasn't afraid of dying. His eyes shifted to Lila for a moment, he couldn't bare the look of sadness on her face so he looked back at Dr. Cooke.

"I hate that look!" the Doctor pulled the gun away only to swipe it hard against Sid's face. Sid let out a grunt of pain and blood began to run from a newly formed gash on his cheek. Sid regained his composure and looked right back at the Doctor.

"Sid!" Lila cried from the corner of the cell.

"You little bastard!" the Doctor pointed his gun at him once more. "See you in hell." He laughed.

"Stop!" Lorenzo called from an adjacent cell. "Hey, just calm down, if you shoot him then there will be a panic, if people think they are going to die then they will fight. Think about it you don't have nearly enough men to stop a violence crazed riot."

The doctor let out a breath after a few long moments of deliberation, "I suppose you are right." he said and pulled his gun away. "I do need to cool my head." He turned to leave but at the last moment turned back to Sid and said, "But I can't let you get away with running your mouth." The Doctor smirked and shot Sid in the arm.

Sid grabbed his arm and cried out in pain, his scream mixed with Lila's and he nearly missed it when the Doctor said he'd send in one of the healers. Dr. Cooke locked the cell again and left the tent, laughing all the way.

"Oh, my god, Sid!" Lila crawled over to Sid and ripped off a part of her shirt to tie around Sid's wound. "It went all the way through but if the healer takes too long…" she couldn't finish her thought, it made her too sad.

"This… won't kill me." Sid said, his voice straining, "We still have a movie date to go on." He tried his best to smile, to reassure her that things would turn out alright… if only he believed it himself.

* * *

"Are you ever going to talk to me again?" Arnold asked Helga after a few hours of searching the rubble, only to find nothing.

"Man, this forest is filled with annoying birds." She said.

"Come on Helga, if we didn't find their bodies then that obviously means they are alive." He said, "It isn't as if they aren't important to me."

"Do you know what we've been through trying to find you?" she asked. "You don't seem to care about them that much."

"Are you crazy?" Arnold asked, he regretted getting Helga to talk to him now. "You are all my friends, how could you think that?"

"We've been worried sick about you and you don't seem to have trouble making new friends and moving on." She said, looking away.

"Is that what this is really about? Bella?" Arnold's brow furrowed and he yanked Helga back to face him. "She and I are helping each other. We are working to stop Scheck."

"How can you trust her?" Helga asked behind her jealousy was a genuine concern about Bella's loyalty. "You said that you met at Scheck's base, that she was a prisoner, but how can you be so sure she isn't in on this? Scheck knows all about your need to rescue people. A pretty girl with a sad story is right up your alley."

"Oh, wow." Arnold said sarcastically, letting Helga's wrist fall. "Look, it's getting dark, we need to find shelter. In the morning we can keep looking for them."

"What about the village?" Helga asked,

"We diverted the tanks, they should be alright." he said, "we won't go back without Phoebe and Gerald." Arnold said.

"Okay." Helga said and sighed as the anger left her. "I'm sure we'll find them."

"Yeah, they can't be too far." Arnold said but paused when he took in Helga's dirt covered form. "There is a hot spring not too far from here, you can take a bath there." He said.

"That sounds really nice actually. I haven't really been able to relax since finding out you were dead." Helga said quietly, Arnold must not have hurt because he was already walking toward the hot spring.

Once they reached the hot spring Helga felt herself smile, the spring was like an oasis in the desert. The trees were old and covered with moss and flowers, the earth around the spring was soft and inviting. The heat emitting from the spring felt heavenly against her skin, which was cold due to the coming of night.

"If this weren't a life or death situation I would say that his is the perfect vacation spot." Helga said before slipping her shoes off.

"I-I'm going to find something for us to eat and build a shelter. I'll be back." Arnold said, his blush hidden by the glow of sunset. "Don't drown." He said and stalked off into the forest, keeping within hearing distance of the spring.

* * *

Arnold returned with a couple of fruits and wood for a small shelter. He nearly dropped all of it when he saw Helga. She was sitting on a rock in the middle of the spring with her back toward him. The moon hugged each one of her curves, he'd never noticed how smooth and perfect her skin was. Helga began to hum while cupping her hands in the warm water only to pour it down her back.

Arnold put everything down and stepped closer, a twig announced his presence and Helga turned, covering her breasts so he wouldn't see them. "So-sorry, I didn't think you'd still be…"

Helga laughed and slid into the water so that only her shoulders were visible. "You act as if you've never seen a naked woman before." She said calmly, though inside she was freaking out. "Turn around so I can get out." She said. Arnold turned away and she quickly got dressed. "Okay."

Arnold turned back to her and cleared his throat, "This is all I could find before the sun went down." Arnold said, picking up the fruit and handing it to her. She took it.

"I'll just set up the shelter."

"Oh, there's no need." Helga said, "There is a cave over there, behind the trees." She said. "It's perfect. I'll show you." She led Arnold to the cave and his eyes widened when he took in the fire and makeshift beds inside.

"That's why it took you so long…" he said

"Shut up." Helga said, why did he have to bring that up? It only reminded her of how he caught her bathing. "At least we'll get a good enough night's sleep."

"Yeah…" Arnold said, though he doubted he'd get any sleep tonight.


	19. Chapter 19

Sid regained consciousness. While, he didn't remember when he'd passed out, he did remember the cause. That excruciating pain of being "cared for" by a nurse who was instructed to treat him without any sort of numbing agent. Still, it wasn't as bad as seeing the worry on Lila's face as he drifted in and out of consciousness that night.

He winced and pushed himself into a sitting position and noticed that Lila was sleeping on the ground next to him. The fact that she'd stayed with him all through the night like that filled him with determination. Sensing the shift in Sid's position, Lila quickly sat up.

"Hey," Sid said, as if his wound was nothing more than a bee sting.

"Sid! You're alright." She said. "I was so worried, you were running a fever last night and I was afraid you would make it."

"Nothing's gonna keep me from our date." He said hoping to get a smile out of her only to fail.

"I am so sorry about all of this." She said, tears running down her cheeks as she brought his hand up to her chest, hugging it, fearing that he would slip away were she to let go.

"Hey, please don't cry." Sid said, whipping the tears from her face. "You wanted to protect my family. I get it. You didn't have a choice." He said softly.

"But I could have gotten you killed." She said. "It was a stupid decision." She admitted.

"And if you didn't make it then you wouldn't be here talking to me right now. And I wouldn't have a family to get back to." He said. "We all knew what we were getting into when we signed up for this mission."

"He's right." Stinky said. "Besides, the fact is, we are all still alive."

"Someone's coming." Bella said and the group fell silent only to hear the sound of footsteps as they came closer to their makeshift prison.

"It's me. I want to make a deal." Dr. Cooke was standing just outside the tent and from Sid's angle he could see that the doctor was on the phone. "I want three times as much as you paid for the football headed one for each of them." There was another pause. "Yeah, well that was before I had to go on the lam." Another pause. "Excellent, I'll send you my coordinates. See you soon." He said and ended the call.

After a few minutes Dr. Cooke entered the tent and was surprised to see Sid standing up, still wearing a defiant look. "I'm surprised you made it through the night." He said.

"It'll take more than a shot in the arm and an infection to kill me." He said.

"One can hope." The doctor said, "No matter, at least I'll get a hefty sum of money for you." He continued past Sid's cell and stopped in front of Bella. "Come with me, my sweet." Dr. Cooke unlocked her cell. "I have a special mission for you."

"What are you planning on doing with me? I don't know the location of the Green Eyes." She said. "You might as well leave me here."

"I am not interested in the Green Eyes or their ridiculous treasure." He said, then drew a gun from the waistband of his pants. "Don't make me ask you again." He said, pointing the gun at Sid. "Because I can assure you, he won't survive this gunshot." Lila gasped but Sid gave her a gesture that told her to stay put. He wasn't about to let her take a bullet for him.

"You're a bastard!" Bella said then followed the doctor out of the tent

* * *

Arnold stifled a yawn with the back of his hand, as predicted he didn't get much sleep the night before. And although his dreams were filled with Helga, they were far from pleasant. Instead, they were filled with gruesome images of her being killed in front of him. The dreams got so bad that he'd eventually given up on trying to sleep.

When dawn had arrived, Arnold made his way toward the water's edge to refill the canteens so that they were ready to face another day in the sweltering heat. After filling the second canteen he set it aside. He dipped his cupped hands into the water and took a long refreshing sip. A twig snapped behind him and he turned around to see Helga standing there.

Sunrays filtered through the canopy and cast ribbons of light all around her, making her look angelic. Her hair was loose and flowing freely over her shoulders, her blue eyes were still hazy with sleep. He felt a blush creep onto his face and he quickly dipped his hands back into the water, only this time it was to splash cold water on his cheeks.

He had sort of hoped that, after seeing the real Helga, he would be rid of those thoughts of her. Their past was rocky but their friendship had since grown and she was her favorite author, but that had always been the gist of it.

"Are you sure they went this way?" Arnold tensed at the sound of Eduardo's voice. Crap! He'd forgotten all about him.

"I'm an expert tracker. This is why you hired me." Mick said and suddenly, both he and Eduardo came through the trees. "See, what did I tell ya?" Mick said to Eduardo before turning to Arnold, machete in his hands. "hello boy." He pointed the tip of the large knife at Arnold and smirked. "and look you made a new friend." he said, referring to Helga. "Where are you meeting all these beautiful women?"

At that Helga cringed, the way Mick studied her with his eyes made her want to shower and that was after spending the night covered in river water. Helga clenched her fists at her sides, this guy only had a knife, she could take him. She took a step forward but was stopped as two large arms grabbed her from behind. She struggled for a moment until she felt the pressure of a gun against her temple.

"ah, Jose, there you are." Mick said. "Nice try, little girl. Know your place or I'll have to punish you." He laughed, "Who knows, perhaps your boyfriend will enjoy the show."

"You're after me. She has nothing to do with any of this. Let her go!" Arnold ordered, he wasn't about to let last night's dreams become a reality.

"Hey, I'm a reasonable man." Mick said and lowered his machete but didn't put it away. "All I want is that key." He nodded toward the pendant Arnold still wore under his shirt. In all the chaos of yesterday Arnold had completely forgotten to return it to Bella.

He wanted to keep the Green Eyes safe but Helga was in the most immediate danger, so he didn't have a choice. As he took those few tentative steps toward Mick, he removed the necklace. Once Arnold was in reach, Mick grabbed it and kicked Arnold hard in the knee sending him to the ground.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you." Mick said as he brought up the machete into the air, ready to slice Arnold in half.

"No!" Eduardo shoved Mick away, earning him a slash in the arm. Eduardo tussled with Mick, they fell to the ground, rolling in a fury of fists and curses.

Jose removed the gun from Helga's temple and instead took aim at his two partners, swapping the target of his shot from Mick to Eduardo and back again, unsure.

Somehow, Mick managed to pull himself to the top of the fight, he pinned Eduardo beneath his large frame and began punching him mercilessly.

At the same time, Helga dropped her weight and kicked Jose in the shin in order to get away. He dropped his gun and Helga quickly dove for it, scooping it up before aiming it at Mick. If Bob Pataki was good for anything it was this: Target practice, once a month.

She fired, grazing Mick's right shoulder. He let out a cry and clasped his left hand over the wound, seething as he looked in her direction.

"My father said never aim a gun at someone unless you intend to kill, so consider yourself lucky because I'm giving you a chance to walk away." She said.

Mick grimaced, his machete was only a few inches away from him, but he knew he wasn't fast enough to kill Helga before she shot him dead. He stood up slowly and Eduardo scooted away from the burly American. "Doesn't matter, this is where you die anyway." Mick said. "That volcano is going to erupt at any moment, and since we are taking the jeep, good luck getting out of here before that happens." He sneered, before heading toward the jeep in the distance with Jose in toe.

As the jeep took off, Arnold knelt down next to Eduardo, his face, despite being bludgeoned didn't look too bad, at least his eyes weren't swollen shut. "Why did you do that?" he asked. "I thought you were with them."

"I didn't want to be." He said. "I loved your parents, we were a family." He said. "I know you must think I betrayed them but I didn't." he said.

"What do you mean, you didn't want to be? You didn't look like a prisoner to me." Arnold said.

"That's because I wasn't, not really." Eduardo said. "You see, your parents went missing and I hired Mick to help me find them." Eduardo said. "I didn't know how ruthless he was until it was too late."

Eduardo continued, "turns out he'd heard about my encounters with the Green Eyes and before long I was trapped in an agreement with him. I never intended to help him find the Green Eyes."

"A lot of good that does us now that he has the pendant." Arnold said.

"No, he doesn't." Eduardo said, shoving the pendant into Arnolds hands. "I managed to get it from him." He said. "I know you have no reason to trust me but if you have a way out of this jungle, please take me with you."

Arnold thought for a moment, this whole adventure was just one betrayal after another but he was a strong believer in second chances. Plus, it all came down to what he could live with and he couldn't live with condemning a man to death by volcano. "Alright."

"Arnold." Helga said. "You can't be serious."

"He saved my life." Arnold said to her then turned to Eduardo, "but I am keeping a close eye on you."

Suddenly, Bella came rushing through the foliage. "Arnold, Thank Goodness I found you." She panted. "Your friends…They're in trouble."

* * *

Dr. Cooke shoved Lorenzo down to his knees and stepped back to look at his handy work. Arnold's friends were bound and lined up, on their knees, in a row in front of him. It was so nice to have this power over people. "Look alive." The doctor said, "The buyer is on his way." And no sooner had those words left his mouth than did Scheck's convoy pulled up, crushing any trees in their path as if they were tooth picks.

The lead car stopped and Scheck stepped out, his thick black books hit the ground as he made his way over to the doctor. "Good." He said. "Very good."

"As you can see, they are all here." The doctor said, sweeping his hand out over his captives.

"They are the perfect bargaining chip." Scheck said, mostly to himself. "But there's only one problem." He said, removing a gun from the holster on his belt.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked.

"Your army works for me and I won't be keeping my end of the deal." Scheck smirked, firing his gun at the Doctor, who dropped dead before he had a chance to protest. The blood pulled from the Doctor's forehead like a small stream being released from a dam.

Sid wanted to look away but he couldn't. He'd never seen death this close before. Then it hit him, how close he'd been to suffering the same fate. He pictured himself lying there, dead, nothing, null, and the world moving on around him.

Pressure against his side pulled Sid back from his thoughts, Lila leaned against him to bury her face in his shoulder, obviously distraught. The action reminded him that he had to keep fighting for her sake.

"As for you." He turned toward Arnold's friends, gun in hand. "I am done playing games."

He paced in front of them and admired his gun. "I will give you five minutes to tell me where Arnold is. For every minute after that I will start executing you one by one." He said then came to a stop, pointed his gun at Lorenzo. "Who wants to tell me?"


End file.
